Credit: Alexander Naglestad on Unsplash
With the end of the year approaching fast, 2021 seems hell-bent on taking as many people as it can down with it. Whether you’re a healthcare worker girding for yet another surge to hit; whether you’re a systems admin wondering how that “extremely serious” new software vulnerability is going to ruin your holidays; whether you’re in a sector that still hasn’t seen demand recover to a fraction of pre-pandemic levels, or a sector with plenty of demand but such a sharp shortage of materials that you can’t deliver anything to your clamoring clients; whether you’re ready to buy your first home but can’t find anything in this market, or recently retired and now worried that inflation will send your well-laid plan for your golden years back to the drawing board, everyone has something to gripe about. Which makes it the perfect time to take stock and do some mental health hygiene. Here are some tips that can help you and your whole organization.
Check in on your boss
Sure, they may be making more money than you, but odds are they aren’t as happy as you are. In fact, when studying highly successful entrepreneurs, researchers uncovered a hornet’s nest of serious mental health problems like extreme stress, panic attacks, depression, and burnout. It’s so common that one could argue that entrepreneurship requires a Faustian bargain, wherein the founder achieves the success they’d always dreamed of, at the cost of a lifetime of stress and misery. So, check in on your boss. If you’re not in an altruistic mode, then do it for yourself. If a founder goes sideways under the stress, they can make sure the whole organization experiences their emotional state.
Set (or reset) your boundaries
The constant state of flux between remote work and in-person might be a permanent change to how we work. For most, it’s been great. Circumstances have allowed enlightened managers to measure work based on output and results rather than whether or not they can see someone across the room who looks busy. If you’re lucky enough to self-manage your time and location—ie work whenever, from wherever—make sure that doesn’t turn into working always, everywhere. No one else will put up those boundaries for you, and it’s easy to fall into an “always-on” mode. Make sure you know how to hit the off button.
Limit the time you spend on social media
No further explanation needed. Spend less time on social media and you’ll be happier.
Embrace procrastination
Procrastinating gets a bad rap—it’s a professional vice. Don’t buy into this framework. Studies show that moderate procrastination boosts creativity and thoughtfulness. That person who never procrastinates and spends all day crushing items on their to-do list? That’s a person who spends all their time making rash, unconsidered decisions. Be proud of your inner procrastinator, and make it work for you with these guidelines.
With that, let us be the first to bid farewell to the year 2021. Don’t let the door hit you where the good lord split you.
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Ilulissat Icefjord Centre. Credit: Adam Mørk
Little Island. Credit: Richard Silver
Ok not everything that happened this year was bad... far from it! Check out My Modern Met's list of the best new buildings and structures that opened this year.
2022 goals.