One of the challenges in life, and I think particularly for entrepreneurs, is brain overload.
I’m talking about those weeks or maybe even months when there are so many things going on that you feel drained.
It’s not a workload like working in the coal mines or things like that, but it’s heavy on the brain when you have multiple things going on at work and at home.
This happens with those in management or entrepreneurship positions. There are often many different things to deal with and sometimes that number really goes up especially if you’re dealing with different clients, different questions, employees, and all kinds of other tasks.
Then you’re at home and you want to make sure you’re there for your family and the things the family is going through together. And maybe you have something you really care about like a hobby and maybe with everything going on you’re struggling with that.
It seems like a small thing, but my favorite hobby is golf. And if I’m struggling with that and can’t figure it out it’s frustrating. It’s certainly not the end of the world, but it’s one more thing weighing on your mind.
I go through weeks like this. It happens especially if I have a lot of tasks or events when I’m around people all the time. As an introvert, that drains me. It takes my energy and I have to have some downtime to get that energy back.
And that kind of brings us to the topic of dealing with brain drain and getting your brain back functioning.
Here are some things I try to do.
Naps And More Sleep
Usually when we’re busy we get less sleep.
That’s probably the worst thing to do and I learned this early on when I started working on Ghost Blog Writers full-time. I would try to pull all nighters and work all the time and the work suffered.
Since then I’ve learned that when I’m feeling drained it’s best to put things aside. In just about all cases things can wait. It’s true, but often we put our own deadlines on things when we don’t really need to.
Take a step back and get some much needed sleep. Let your brain catch up and get more sleep than you might think you need with naps.
Reading
I don’t think TV is good here. I like reading because it doesn’t seem to sap your brain by adding on one more thing, but it also seems better for your brain that staring at the TV for a few hours. I just about always get more energy from reading whether it’s reading the newspaper or a novel or a biography.
I don’t like reading certain tops of news. I’m more about stories and really the feel good stories. I subscribe to this rural paper in our area and they always have some great stories. I don’t pay attention to the news quite as much, but I like the stories and it seems to help get my mind off many things and on one thing.
Walks
Walking is a good time to reflect for me. It’s almost like a meditation. I try not to think about all the things going on, but it happens and I try to let those thoughts pass while focusing on what’s going on around me.
Again, it seems to add energy to my brain and my body.
More Hobby Time
I mentioned earlier that I like golf. When my game’s not going well it’s frustrating and tough, but it’s still nice to focus and figure out what’s going on. And with practice you do get better. You might have a few steps back, but usually you can get back to where you were and even better.
And all that practice can put your brain on one thing again and with that you’re easing all the many thoughts going on and it seems to add energy.
Final Thought
I’m sure there are lots of ways you can ease the tension on your brain with all the things going on. When you’re feeling brain drained you could meditate or cook or do whatever it is that gets your brain better.
It seems that what works is removing yourself from all the thoughts you don’t necessarily want for a while and focusing on one thing that makes you pretty happy. Maybe going to your child’s ball game and paying attention to that or calling an old friend and catching up on their life.
Whatever it is for you it’s important to do something to ease the brain drain, but if you push through you likely won’t come out of it and your work and your personal life will suffer.