Right now think of that thing, you constantly have on your to do list that would feel so good to accomplish. Say, write or text it right now to yourself.
My guess is, it’s still on your list because all the other things you need to do daily take up your time.
So how do we do it? How do we keep up with all the things we need to do and still have the energy and time to tackle that thing we really want to do? Do we hustle harder, get up earlier, work later or get more focused and determined?
Truth is a stronger mindset and work ethic isn’t the trick. This may work in the short run, but eventually we get run down, lack motivation, become moody and other areas of our life begin to suffer.
We need to work with our nervous system so we can have more capacity. This means addition by subtraction. Listen to this powerful episode with Nervous System Strategist, Michelle Grosser. CLICK HERE for Michelle’s website and resources. CLICK ⬇️for her full podcast episode on the “Brilliant Balance“ with Cherylanne Skolnicki
Here’s a bit of science with action steps:
As humans, our nervous system runs the show on productivity and stress management.Your nervous system is basically your body’s control center. It’s a network of nerve tissue that includes your brain, spinal cord and nerves.
It’s how you take in information from your environment and take actions. by transmitting electrical and chemical signals throughout the body, it controls everything from breathing and heartbeat to complex processes like thought, emotion, learning, and movement.
If our nervous system is overwhelmed, things take longer to get done and we have less capacity.
Here’s a 3 juicy facts to remember about your nervous system:
- The nervous system is NON-VERBAL. It does not speak a language. You can’t talk yourself ( or anyone else) into a less stressed state. We must SHOW the body through movement, sound and touch.
- When your mind is overwhelmed, you become “dysregulated” which often leads to the survival state of FREEZE. Freeze means we don’t go anywhere, you’re stuck. It’s a survival response to keep you safe. The thing is we no longer freeze from tigers, holding still in the brush, now we freeze with mindless, routine habits that make us feel safe (scrolling social media, checking apps and email, mindless eating, mindless driving, mindless organizing). Basically we “check out” AKA Dissociate.
- Dissociating is a normal survival coping mechanism. We do this when our brain cannot differentiate between a real threat and perceived threat. You have dissociated when you:
- Pick up your phone and scroll for no particular reason
- Stay on small household tasks that are not urgent
- Procrastinate on a project
How do get out of a dysregulated state that is not serving us?
Take action with one of the three below action steps:
- Move: Body shaking is great! Don’t make this a big deal, just jiggle yourself around.. could be on the floor or on the couch even. Or take a brisk short walk, skip, jump, dance
- Play: Think of what you enjoyed as a kid. Maybe coloring, drawing, singing, playing with legos, cars, throwing rocks etc..
- Stillness: stillness settles the mind. stay in one place, breath in through your nose slowly and twice as long exhale. Stay with yourself without bringing in any added information for at least 90 seconds.
These non verbal modalities shift us out of freeze (dissociation) and into a calmer state that allows our nervous system to become regulated so we can take action and move forward.
Here’s a few more important facts to know about your human nervous system:
1. We cannot think or talk our way out of dysregulation or dissociation 80% of the nerves in our body are “Afferent nerves” They run from our body up to our brain. That leaves only 20% of messaging from your brain to your body. This is why saying “calm down” or “get going” is not very effective. Mindset work is helpful but it’s 1/5 th of the battle.
2. We must show the body we are safe to shift out of dysregulation We do this by first noticing where our confused energy is and then moving it. “Anxiety is just un-managed energy”
3. When we are “Regulated” we are opening and relaxing our nervous system so the body goes out of FREEZE state and starts working with the brain to take forward action.
Once you implement stillness, movement and play you will more easily tolerate more things daily AND want to do more. We need to accept that making ourselves slow down will dramatically speed you up in the long run.
Let’s break this down so you can start today!
- Become Aware “We cannot intervene in a world we cannot see”. Stop every 1-3 hours and notice what is the feeling in your body: Is it jumbled, frantic, chaotic, hard, soft, heavy, tired?
- Gather information : AKA this lesson on productivity and your nervous system. Take it in fully
- Take Action = Don’t just listen to this education. Pick a step to take action with and do it!
Just remember to keep checking in with your body and building capacity with movement, play and stillness daily.
2. Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor,Ph.D, Neuro-Anatomist and Best Selling Author
3. Michael Singer, Teacher on “How to separate the voice in your head from the real you”
4. Eckhart Tolle. Author of A New Earth
Bonus guide if you’re into spirituality..
2. Get lots of greens in you 
Tap into these 5 all natural supplements
Consider this familiar comfort zone habit. You are stuck in a routine of a cookie before bed. Is it really that big a deal?
So if you feel stressed, your body will respond with racing thoughts and a surge of cortisol, this will cause you to eat the cookie when you watch the evening news. What if you don’t watch the evening news, you’re not stressed and you still want the cookie? This is a pattern you have formed, a blueprint.