Want to hear a trick that might reduce your stress?

I’ve both read the book and seen the movie The Martian, and I think both are great! But there’s one part that really stands out, that really resonates with me. At one point the protagonist is talking about solving problems, and says something along the lines of:

“That’s all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem and you solve the next one, and then the next.”

I very frequently get overwhelmed at work, especially first thing in the morning when I first turn on my computer and I see all the emails and unread instant messages and appointment reminders and the 10 code editors, documents, diagrams, and everything else all staring back at me. But, all multitasking aside, you can really only work on one thing at a time. So that’s what you do. Pick the next thing to work on, then work on it.

This sounds really simple, doesn’t it? But in practice it’s not. In reality you pick the one thing to work on, you start to work on it, but then an email pops in and you go check it. Or an instant message appears. Or you have to go to a meeting. Or you think about something else and flip over to another task “just for a moment”.

I used to get really stressed in a common driving situation. When you are waiting to turn right, and you are behind one or more cars in front of you. The cars in front of you are all looking down the street, waiting for a break in traffic so THEY can turn right. I used to get really stressed trying to look down the street. But then I realized, it doesn’t matter. I can’t turn right until they do, so it doesn’t matter. Just watch the car in front of you, and let them worry about finding a break to turn right. Then when you get to the front of the line at the intersection, THEN you can look down the street.

This sounds so simple but it took away a huge amount of stress when driving. Well, the same thing applies here. If I know I have a task to do tomorrow but I’m working on a different task today, then focus on the task today and don’t even worry about the other task until tomorrow. I know, I know, this sounds easy in theory but it is difficult in practice. Well, that’s the trick. Practice it. Just like you would have to practice mindfulness or meditation, practice not worrying about the next task, and just solve the task in front of you.