Home for a Lifetime

Looking back at our blog, we’ve had an interesting year: Tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and then a freak pre-Halloween snow storm that resulted in long term black outs.

I was certainly more prepared for the snowpocalypse than the last few curve balls thrown at us by Mother Nature. My husband and I were lucky enough to have family we could stay with. We went on a mini vacation until things started to improve near our house. Then we headed back so my husband could go to work as his office had power. We came back even though the Dynamic Living office and our apartment were still without power. I figured I’d be fine. And I was…. Sort of.

Every now and then I’d catch myself thinking “oh I’ll just plug that in…” or “I can turn that on…” Except that plugging things in or turning things on wasn’t going to do much. As one friend put it: I’d make a crummy pioneer. If the power had stayed out longer I would have eventually gotten used to it. I kept myself busy and found ways to adapt to not having power. Looking back I realize the whole experience is very similar to what happens when you have an injury or an illness that heaves your daily routine right out the window.

At first, we were shocked. We didn’t know what to do, so we went looking for help. We had to leave the comfort of our own home so that we could just have the basics that we needed to survive. We also needed help from family and friends. We came home once we were feeling a little more secure about what we needed to do. After we got home, I went through the process of adapting our apartment for the current situation and made sure we had enough gadgets to supplement those adaptations.

My husband and I were able to get back to normal fairly quickly, but not everyone got power back in a timely manner. While we were putting things back they way they were, many people in our area were looking at adaptations that could last a longer.

The whole experience was a reminder for me that I take many things for granted. For example, the ability to walk around my apartment safely after the sun sets is something I came to appreciate in those days. So now that we’re back to “normal” I’ve left many of those adaptations as they were. If I take them down, I’ll have to start over the NEXT time the power goes out. Being prepared for it will make the already stressful situation a little easier to cope with.

There have been many occasions where thinking ‘outside the box’ has produced creative results. What does that mean? It means that you allow yourself the luxury of thinking a little (or a lot) differently so that the results are not the same as they always are. This kind of thinking does not have to be radical or wild (although the creative gurus will tell you that the wilder the idea, the better). Sometime minor variations can bring great results.

Scientists know this. Their experiments will include many underlying ‘ingredients’, so when something is changed, it will be one variant that can be tracked as an experiment. Too many changed muddy the waters and won’t tell the scientist what actually worked.

Data Marketers know this. When they perform a/b tests, they’re changing one thing about an ad so they can track the results. Just like the scientists, there will be many experiments, so there are many a/b tests all searching for the best results.

People who bake know that a poor tasting product is not necessarily the end of the recipe. They adapt the recipe, trying different ingredients until it rises properly, has the right consistency or tastes better. Even boxed mixes may need a little tweaking. We’ve heard complaints about gluten free mixes being blah. Although some are very good, some taste very bland out of the box. They may need the addition of some of your favorite flavorings to bring them to life. With a recent gluten free bread making experiment, I tried one batch plain, and then added ingredients to 2 other batches. Using the mix as a starting point made bread making possible and so much easier! Although the plain mix was kind of meek, the other two breads showed great promise. I learned something with every experiment (making good notes so I’ll remember!) and will continue to improve the boxed mix with my own tweaks.

How else can we use this in our daily lives? When we have to do something that is physically difficult, try different approaches until you find one that works. Are there other ways to use your body? Are there levers, handles, ties, etc that would make it easier? When something is mentally challenging, break it down into smaller steps, adapting the problem until you can find a solution. Start from a point you know is true, but review your thought process to be sure that something illogical didn’t slip in (it’s so easy to do!).

Consider yourself too uncreative? Nope, you just need some practice and the right to mess up now and then.

Have you tried a little ‘out of the box thinking’ today?

I can’t think. Well, not for more than two minutes at a time. It’s not a medical condition. It’s an environmental thing; brain interruptus.

So many things are screaming for my attention, both at work and at home that I find myself in a constant state of readiness, and it’s exhausting.

At work, the phone is incessant, technical calls take hours and communication with my colleagues is demanding. Information hides in details, so I must sort through tons of irrelevant data to find the ‘pearl of wisdom’. That applies to salesman proposing fabulous returns with their product as well as to good customer service and business operations. Email icons blink demanding in my face and other machine “beeps and boops” call for my attention.

At home, it’s the normal distractions. Although I happened to be passed motherhood (the ‘kids’ have their own kids. What goes around…), somehow someone/something always needs attention. It’s not the children hanging at my knees anymore, but I am clearly indispensable none-the-less. From family needs, to friends having problems, to the insane political campaign calls, non-profit solicitors, and direct marketing researchers I am inundated with calls. Sorting through my heaps of mail, I only find financial statements and bills and tons of unwanted marketing. There are always chores, like laundry, cooking and such. (Luckily, my spouse helps with that.)

Why am I whining now? I’ve given that some thought. I had some time off recently, so that’s not it. Therefore, I have logically concluded that… the holidays are approaching. The holidays create extra pressures at work, at home and socially. My down time is seriously inhibited, and I seriously need my downtime.

So with that knowledge and realization, I am going to do something about it. I am going to take ½ hour for me, for my mental health. I will meditate, or take a quite walk without my cell phone. Restore the balance. Then I’ll organize my tasks a bit, so I’ll only do the important things. Then, perhaps, I’ll go on with my day with less stress.

What do you do to de-stress at the holidays?