Feeling overwhelmed as a BA?
In this episode of BA Bites, we explore 10 practical ways Business Analysts can use mindfulness and strategic timeouts to reduce risk and improve mental health.
That’s why in the latest episode of BA Bites, I’m diving into 10 ways BAs can use mindfulness and strategic timeouts to reduce risk and improve mental health.
🔹 Taking a breath before reacting
🔹 Using the 5-second rule to prevent overcommitment
🔹 Scheduling "thinking time" like a meeting
🔹 Walking away to gain perspective
🔹 Reducing decision fatigue with timeout decisions
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
OK, today we are going to be diving into an often overlooked
aspect of being ABA and that is stress.
And then the counter to that which is mindfulness and the
power of time outs. I have unfortunately gone
through a few personal dilemmas over the last couple of weeks
with losing loved ones and animals, and so it's a good
(00:24):
reminder that we all need to have some time out.
So join me on this episode as weexplore ten ways BAS can use
mindfulness and timeouts to reduce stress and improve mental
health. The Better Business Analysis
Institute presence, the Better Business Analysis podcast with
(00:45):
Kingsman Walsh being ABA, consistently managing
stakeholders, juggling priorities and dealing with
complex problems, right? The that's our job.
On a daily basis, you're always running at full speed.
The best BAS are running at fullspeed.
The better BAS are running at full speed and they really key
(01:07):
them empathies up. And there's ways that people
deal with that one, they slow their speed and they become a
little bit lazier or they removeempathy.
But those that are running consistently, the good ones, we
risk burnout, decision fatigue, and even make costly mistakes.
So today we look at 10 ways BS can use mindfulness and
(01:29):
strategic timeouts to reduce stress and improve mental
health. Let's jump in.
In this list, I am also telling myself this stuff.
(01:49):
I just see you're aware. Number one is to take a breath
before reacting. Have you ever been in a meeting
where someone throws an unexpected question at you?
It it happens, it's awkward and you feel the pressure to respond
immediately, right? Like your honor is on the line,
especially if you're nervous going into that meeting, which I
(02:10):
still get very nervous going into a workshop, especially when
the factors around it are uncontrolled.
So I do prep to manage that. But also you can just, you just
know going in sometimes that twopeople were going to clash and
that's going to slow the workshop down.
I had that last week. So instead of reacting on
impulse, take a single deep breath.
(02:34):
That small pause helps you collect your thoughts and avoid
saying something you might regret or that can cause
confusion later or make the situation worse.
So you can do that. It's also good that you don't do
it like you're not acting. You're not like a footballer
who's falling down on the groundand acting.
(02:54):
Take the breath and how people react to that, that's on there.
So the action tip here is to trythe 444 breathing technique.
You breathe in for four seconds,you hold that for four and you
exhale for four and you pause for four.
(03:16):
That's fine. People may look at you, you may
want to do that. Well, you know something else is
happening, but I think it's really good.
What you're you're showing is maybe frustration.
People might take it that way, but what you're actually showing
is that you just got to think about it.
And someone like me who reacts very quickly, it's a strength of
mine that can get you into all sorts of trouble as we go
(03:37):
through this list in terms of reacting because you, you feel
like you're filling a gap, not allowing people to feel like
they've been actively listened to even though you've already
processed it. So this is a really, really good
technique for people that have similar personality types to me
#2 use the 5 second rule, not the one when you're picking
(04:02):
things up and it's still good. You drop your toast.
Use the 5 second rule to preventover commitment.
And So what does that look like?So BAS often get asked to do
more than we realistically can do.
It happens all the time. I don't think I've ever been in
a job where my To Do List is running out, and if it is, I'm
usually bored and I'm probably looking for something else.
(04:24):
Before saying yes to another request, take 5 seconds.
Again. It's this power of the pause to
assess whether you truly have the capacity if you don't
negotiate expectations or delegate always to say just say
no. But there's an art of saying no.
So, so, well, I can't do it right now, but I can do it at
(04:46):
this point in time or I'm just working on this, which is a high
priority or tell me which one's a high priority and I don't.
I used to like that technique where you you go back up and you
go, well, look, Mr. project Manager sponsor, you want me to
change this? Just be aware that the time it
takes to finish off what I'm doing or to close that out and
come back to us does add extra time.
(05:07):
So just the, the context switching is, is actually a
really bad thing. So sometimes if you've just got
a few hours to finish something off, say I've looked, I'm going
to be finished this by Friday and are you happy if I picked
that up for Monday? And you would be surprised how
many times your manager or whoever's asking you to do this
will say, Oh yeah, that's fine. I actually don't need it.
(05:28):
But until Wednesday. So the action tip here is when a
stakeholder asks for something, let me think about it, say, let
me think about it and get back to you.
Just let me think about it and just check my calendar.
Just go to check in with my manager or my project manager
and I'll get back to you. And this buys you the time to
respond wisely, OK, and, and, and sometimes that can be
(05:50):
awkward, you know, do you do e-mail?
I'd give them a call, say hey, look, I'll follow this up with
an e-mail. So you've got it on record, but
I've just spoken to Pete and I really need to finish something
off or otherwise I'm slowing someone else down and I can get
that done by Wednesday next week.
Are you OK if I pick this up starting Thursday #3 schedule
(06:13):
thinking time, like a meeting. We don't do this.
I am so bad at this. I sometimes I'm good.
Recently I've been terrible. So great.
BA isn't just busy, they are thinking strategically.
They're not just on the next task, OK.
And a lot of people just block out that ability.
Somebody, as I see, turn into these output monsters, but they
(06:37):
don't think strategically anymore and it's a shame.
So block out time in your calendar for deep work, deep
analysis, and problem solving, just as you would for meetings.
So the action tip here is that protect at least 30 minutes a
day for focus thinking, no distractions, just clarity.
So that 30 minutes might be you booking a meeting room, going in
(06:59):
there for 30 minutes and just thinking, what have I got on?
Could be generalized or it couldbe specific.
I've just done a workshop, right?
I need to do this now. That does not include your prep
annual write up for the meeting.And I'm terrible at doing that.
When I book a workshop, I sometimes book a fill out
workshop and then I don't give myself enough time to prep
appropriately for the second one.
(07:20):
And so so just that's a side tipto make sure you do that.
Number 4 is to do a daily mindful chicken.
Now, a lot of people might feel like they want to be sick when
they hear the word mindfulness because it got thrown down our
throat too much. Mindfulness will consistently be
around. It's it is a thing.
(07:42):
It's not just a corporate thing.It's come from meditation.
It's come from an offshoot of yoga.
It is just about thinking. It's just the word that's being
queened. OK.
So don't get put off by mindfulness.
Just focus on what it gives you.And that is to take a minute
each day to assess how you're feeling.
(08:02):
So it's internal thinking, OK. Are you feeling stressed?
Are you feeling focused? Have you got so much on at home
that to be honest, you're not doing your best at work for
yourself anyway? Are you feeling overwhelmed?
That happens to me often. Be aware of your emotional
state, OK? And being aware of it, being
(08:25):
giving you a chance to think about it and then becoming aware
of it, protect yourself from burnout and ensures that you are
bringing your best stuff to work.
Now there is a whole argument about whether or not, you know,
the, the whole point in life is to sort yourself out.
So you're the best at work that that could be an argument.
It should be best at home as well.
(08:46):
And you know, a lot of us struggle with that, that we
actually do all we can. So we're, we're the best for
work, but I would also say to myself and to my listeners, it's
also about being the best at home, right?
Because that's what life's about.
So the action tip here is to seta reminder.
Just just put it in, doesn't have to be any time.
(09:09):
So you can do 3 in your calendar, but it comes up in
your calendar as a reminder. Do this, this helps with atomic
habits and whatnot. Or do it when you've just had
your coffee break in the morningof your, if you're a routine
kind of person, set a reminder to pause and ask yourself what
my energy level. It's a really good way of
(09:31):
phrasing it, sort of mindfulness.
Maybe my energy level is right now and what do I need?
Do I need to go for a walk? Do I need to take a breath?
Do I need to tell other people that I'm actually overwhelmed
and I'm just, I'm overwhelmed. I'm just a little bit
overwhelmed at the moment. It's all good.
You don't need to do anything. But what I need to do is just
take a breath. I need to go for a walk.
(09:51):
I'll grab a cup of coffee outside the office, disconnect
to come back and be the best I could be.
No problem with that #5 which iswhat we've kind of talked away,
talked about as one of the strategies is to walk away to
gain perspective. I'd I actually do this?
I don't think I consciously do this, but I subconsciously do
(10:11):
this through making sure I get out at lunchtime.
Most of the time when you're stuck on a problem, OK, you're
stuck on it. So if you're on the flow state,
which I might have AI actually will have a whole episode on how
to get into flow state, which ishow I work.
I work in, you know, you work introughs.
Sometimes you don't produce as much and then other times you
(10:31):
just crank out called your flow state.
But when you're stuck on a problem so you're not in flow
state, maybe you're going in andout of meetings, step away.
OK, step away. Stepping away can unlock new
insights instead of focusing or forcing an answer, trying to get
a solution or short cutting thatby playing chess.
(10:54):
If you're an intellect and getting to the the 10 moves
predetermined moves without considering the other opponent,
take a short walk, make a cup oftea or just look out the window
for a few minutes. Your brain, we'll process this
in the background. There's so much going on that
you're not aware of in your own body and in your own brain all
(11:15):
the time. And your subconscious just needs
some time to to kind of catch upand do it's proper processing.
The action tip here is to use the 90 minute rule, which is
after 90 minutes, it's a narrower half of intense work.
Take 5 to 10 minute break soundsstupid.
(11:36):
It sounds like you're inefficient.
But if you're intensely and it'snot, look at the clock after 90
minutes of doing things that areslightly inefficient, then take
a break. It's actually about intense work
and when you're really problem solving, OK, so it's when you're
in that position that you have to do that.
It's the same for assignments. If you're doing any study, you
know, you're currently studying or, or you're doing extra study,
(11:59):
continuous study. Now the I want to talk about an
interesting conundrum here is dowe all remember the smoke O
break, right? Cigarettes.
So there's a, a home psychology about why smoking which kills
you, by the way, I've just made that really clear.
Smoke O breaks and the ability to smoke was actually healthy on
(12:23):
other layers from a mental health point of view, apart from
the chemical, you know, joys youmight get of it.
The other benefit that people found when they look back at it
was the fact that that group gottime out.
You know, people went for smoker, other people didn't
smoke. So those people were actually in
time out and they got to actually form a group and talk
(12:43):
to others. And usually they were just
gossiping, which is also healthyin some ways, depending on the
gossip. And also, yeah, they just got to
form a little cloak, which sometimes you found that a lot
of the smokers were the, the, the, the, the people that were
maybe cogs in the machine. And so the cogs in the machine
connected. So there's a whole interesting
(13:04):
dynamic around, you know, what was the benefits of that?
So how do we bring the smoker back minus the smoking and all
the vaping? And I guess that's the to walk
away, take some minutes, maybe you synchronize the 10 minute
break with some work colleagues to go for a walk at lunchtime or
something like that. Number six is to use mindfulness
(13:27):
listening in meetings. So what do we mean by that?
It's active listening. So meetings can be chaotic, but
mindfulness listening helps you focus on what's really being
said instead of preparing your response or someone else is
speaking. So we do call this active
listening. But what this is, is that a lot
(13:47):
of us, especially in a situationlike at the UB, your friends are
talking, right? They're like talking about what
they're doing on the weekend, what they're up to, and you're
actually not fully listening to them.
That's true. You are thinking about what to
say in response to that. It's the social dynamic.
(14:07):
You're going, OK, what am I, what am I up to in the weekend?
And you're not fully listening to all the details of the
description. Well, mindfulness listening is
actually when you're fully listening to that person, every
detail, the way they say it, their facial expressions and
that's proper active listening and that's really good.
So in the next next time you have a meeting, this is your
(14:28):
action tip. I want you to fully concentrate
on the speaker. Everything about the speaker,
their their eyes, their movements, their hands signals
what's not being said, how they're saying, their tone.
Pause before responding to ensure that you understand, are
asked questions, don't interrupt.
Give them chance. So when someone finishes,
(14:50):
finishes a sentence and they're like, wow, you know, we've got a
real big problem right now with distribution and we're just not
getting the trucks to where theyneed to be and time.
And now you and I could, if you're a better PA, you might
go, oh, and why is that? Well, try not saying why is
(15:10):
that? Just give them a little bit of
time, 5 seconds and then might add to that.
And that's a big problem becauseGary's told me that the truck
drivers, they're really stressedout.
And so that in extra insight youwouldn't have got if you had
spoken straight away. So give, give some time that
that's, that's a technique to the mindfulness listening and
(15:34):
act of listening #7 is to reducedecision fatigue with timed out
decisions. So as ABA, you have a lot of
decisions to make about requirements.
You're actually persuading people.
You're making decisions all the time.
People go, I'm not the decision maker.
You are a decision maker. BA is like primarily a decision
(15:54):
maker. How we approach things, we
influence all over the place. You give 2 BAS the same problem,
there will be slightly differentoutcomes.
So the only difference there is the BA.
So they've got, you've got stakeholders, you've got
priorities. Now instead of rushing, use a
time out decision when you delay, a choice to gain
(16:16):
perspective. So let me let me go through the
action item to explain that a bit better.
And the decision isn't urgent. Sleep on it.
Now some of us don't sleep because we're worried about the
decision. But this is a a term of sleep on
it, as in wait 24 hours and a first perspective often leads to
(16:37):
better judgement. So if you're running a
requirement you're not sure exactly, you know you're not
getting much from Paragon. You've done all your best in
terms of external feedback and and evidence, and now you're
needing to craft something or think about how something could
be articulated, which is generally the job of BA.
Just think about it overnight. Give yourself a little bit of
(16:59):
time instead of just going, oh, I'll just put this function in.
OK. So just just be aware of that.
And also you can talk to other people.
Using a parking lot for mental clarity is really important.
I do this in meetings all the time.
But parking lot is great for your own personal development.
So if you ever find yourself in a meeting thinking of 10
(17:19):
different things at once, createa parking lot.
Digital space usually is the best place to do it, where you
jot down distracting thoughts. You can visit them later.
I sometimes just e-mail myself and my Outlook or Google Gmail
and then and that just puts it away.
You're keeping a mental clutter away in a structured way, just
(17:39):
not over the top for worries andideas and decisions or risks.
And you're putting them in thereso you, your mind knows they're
there and you're forcing yourself to distract.
Distract yourself from that and focus on what needs to be
focused on right now, which is whatever you're doing.
OK #9 is in your day with a mental reset.
(18:02):
Before shutting down for the day, do a quick reflection.
Maybe you can put this on and post it.
What went well today? What could improve?
This helps you leave work behindand transition into personal
time. So the action tip here is to
spend 5 minutes reviewing the day and setting one intention
for tomorrow. Those things that's really like
(18:25):
a real proactive way of doing it.
I've just suggested other peopledo things that are strongly
connected to that to reset and they go to the gym after work or
they purposely will take public transport to kind of take a
longer journey home. They might drive in the car for
a while. They might listen to music.
But that transition state from the end of work to home is
(18:47):
really important. What I'm suggesting here is more
end work, so just before you leave.
And I think that is a really good way of just going.
I'm done for that day. OK, And DNLA yourself to have
that word to personal reset, which is in addition to this and
#10 create ABA reset ritual. That's right.
(19:08):
Find a short daily ritual to reset your mind.
Whether it's a quick meditation,stretching, journaling, small
mind moments of mindfulness can help prevent burnout.
So you could try this. If you can't think of anything
else, try a 2 minute. I guess there's a gratitude
exercise where you write down things that went well today.
(19:30):
Now for some people that is not their thing.
I totally understand that. So you can have another ritual.
You could say what I'm actually going to do is there's stairs at
work. I'm going to walk down a couple
of flights of stairs because my,if your legs are all good.
And as I take a step, I'm going to try and think of things that
I need to get off my, my chest. OK, Journaling is great and
(19:53):
journaling sounds too much. I would just get, I have a
diary, I have a physical diary and I write down all the things
that I need to worry about in the future that are on my mind.
They're not everything. So I don't need to go back to it
and make sure I've covered everything.
But if I'm thinking about a birthday, then I might forget or
a, a game that I need to go to or an appointment I've got, I
write it in my journal, OK. And I include business ideas in
(20:14):
there too. And maybe topics for podcasts I
do every week in there. I write down some ideas.
And that is exactly how you should do it.
OK, so that's it for today's BA Bytes.
And if you found these mindfulness and timeout
strategies helpful, take a moment to reflect on which one
you are going to start using today.
(20:36):
And if you enjoyed this episode,don't forget to subscribe and
share it with other BA's who could use a little more clarity
and calm in their work. And obviously, these tips apply
to not just BA's, so share it with your network.
Until next time, stay mindful and keep analyzing smarter.
OK, today we are going to be diving into an often overlooked
aspect of being ABA and that is stress.
And then the counter to that which is mindfulness and the
power of time outs. I have unfortunately gone
through a few personal dilemmas over the last couple of weeks
with losing loved ones and animals, and so it's a good
(00:24):
reminder that we all need to have some time out.
So join me on this episode as weexplore ten ways BAS can use
mindfulness and timeouts to reduce stress and improve mental
health. The Better Business Analysis
Institute presence, the Better Business Analysis podcast with
(00:45):
Kingsman Walsh being ABA, consistently managing
stakeholders, juggling priorities and dealing with
complex problems, right? The that's our job.
On a daily basis, you're always running at full speed.
The best BAS are running at fullspeed.
The better BAS are running at full speed and they really key
(01:07):
them empathies up. And there's ways that people
deal with that one, they slow their speed and they become a
little bit lazier or they removeempathy.
But those that are running consistently, the good ones, we
risk burnout, decision fatigue, and even make costly mistakes.
So today we look at 10 ways BS can use mindfulness and
(01:29):
strategic timeouts to reduce stress and improve mental
health. Let's jump in.
In this list, I am also telling myself this stuff.
(01:49):
I just see you're aware. Number one is to take a breath
before reacting. Have you ever been in a meeting
where someone throws an unexpected question at you?
It it happens, it's awkward and you feel the pressure to respond
immediately, right? Like your honor is on the line,
especially if you're nervous going into that meeting, which I
(02:10):
still get very nervous going into a workshop, especially when
the factors around it are uncontrolled.
So I do prep to manage that. But also you can just, you just
know going in sometimes that twopeople were going to clash and
that's going to slow the workshop down.
I had that last week. So instead of reacting on
impulse, take a single deep breath.
(02:34):
That small pause helps you collect your thoughts and avoid
saying something you might regret or that can cause
confusion later or make the situation worse.
So you can do that. It's also good that you don't do
it like you're not acting. You're not like a footballer
who's falling down on the groundand acting.
(02:54):
Take the breath and how people react to that, that's on there.
So the action tip here is to trythe 444 breathing technique.
You breathe in for four seconds,you hold that for four and you
exhale for four and you pause for four.
(03:16):
That's fine. People may look at you, you may
want to do that. Well, you know something else is
happening, but I think it's really good.
What you're you're showing is maybe frustration.
People might take it that way, but what you're actually showing
is that you just got to think about it.
And someone like me who reacts very quickly, it's a strength of
mine that can get you into all sorts of trouble as we go
(03:37):
through this list in terms of reacting because you, you feel
like you're filling a gap, not allowing people to feel like
they've been actively listened to even though you've already
processed it. So this is a really, really good
technique for people that have similar personality types to me
#2 use the 5 second rule, not the one when you're picking
(04:02):
things up and it's still good. You drop your toast.
Use the 5 second rule to preventover commitment.
And So what does that look like?So BAS often get asked to do
more than we realistically can do.
It happens all the time. I don't think I've ever been in
a job where my To Do List is running out, and if it is, I'm
usually bored and I'm probably looking for something else.
(04:24):
Before saying yes to another request, take 5 seconds.
Again. It's this power of the pause to
assess whether you truly have the capacity if you don't
negotiate expectations or delegate always to say just say
no. But there's an art of saying no.
So, so, well, I can't do it right now, but I can do it at
(04:46):
this point in time or I'm just working on this, which is a high
priority or tell me which one's a high priority and I don't.
I used to like that technique where you you go back up and you
go, well, look, Mr. project Manager sponsor, you want me to
change this? Just be aware that the time it
takes to finish off what I'm doing or to close that out and
come back to us does add extra time.
(05:07):
So just the, the context switching is, is actually a
really bad thing. So sometimes if you've just got
a few hours to finish something off, say I've looked, I'm going
to be finished this by Friday and are you happy if I picked
that up for Monday? And you would be surprised how
many times your manager or whoever's asking you to do this
will say, Oh yeah, that's fine. I actually don't need it.
(05:28):
But until Wednesday. So the action tip here is when a
stakeholder asks for something, let me think about it, say, let
me think about it and get back to you.
Just let me think about it and just check my calendar.
Just go to check in with my manager or my project manager
and I'll get back to you. And this buys you the time to
respond wisely, OK, and, and, and sometimes that can be
(05:50):
awkward, you know, do you do e-mail?
I'd give them a call, say hey, look, I'll follow this up with
an e-mail. So you've got it on record, but
I've just spoken to Pete and I really need to finish something
off or otherwise I'm slowing someone else down and I can get
that done by Wednesday next week.
Are you OK if I pick this up starting Thursday #3 schedule
(06:13):
thinking time, like a meeting. We don't do this.
I am so bad at this. I sometimes I'm good.
Recently I've been terrible. So great.
BA isn't just busy, they are thinking strategically.
They're not just on the next task, OK.
And a lot of people just block out that ability.
Somebody, as I see, turn into these output monsters, but they
(06:37):
don't think strategically anymore and it's a shame.
So block out time in your calendar for deep work, deep
analysis, and problem solving, just as you would for meetings.
So the action tip here is that protect at least 30 minutes a
day for focus thinking, no distractions, just clarity.
So that 30 minutes might be you booking a meeting room, going in
(06:59):
there for 30 minutes and just thinking, what have I got on?
Could be generalized or it couldbe specific.
I've just done a workshop, right?
I need to do this now. That does not include your prep
annual write up for the meeting.And I'm terrible at doing that.
When I book a workshop, I sometimes book a fill out
workshop and then I don't give myself enough time to prep
appropriately for the second one.
(07:20):
And so so just that's a side tipto make sure you do that.
Number 4 is to do a daily mindful chicken.
Now, a lot of people might feel like they want to be sick when
they hear the word mindfulness because it got thrown down our
throat too much. Mindfulness will consistently be
around. It's it is a thing.
(07:42):
It's not just a corporate thing.It's come from meditation.
It's come from an offshoot of yoga.
It is just about thinking. It's just the word that's being
queened. OK.
So don't get put off by mindfulness.
Just focus on what it gives you.And that is to take a minute
each day to assess how you're feeling.
(08:02):
So it's internal thinking, OK. Are you feeling stressed?
Are you feeling focused? Have you got so much on at home
that to be honest, you're not doing your best at work for
yourself anyway? Are you feeling overwhelmed?
That happens to me often. Be aware of your emotional
state, OK? And being aware of it, being
(08:25):
giving you a chance to think about it and then becoming aware
of it, protect yourself from burnout and ensures that you are
bringing your best stuff to work.
Now there is a whole argument about whether or not, you know,
the, the whole point in life is to sort yourself out.
So you're the best at work that that could be an argument.
It should be best at home as well.
(08:46):
And you know, a lot of us struggle with that, that we
actually do all we can. So we're, we're the best for
work, but I would also say to myself and to my listeners, it's
also about being the best at home, right?
Because that's what life's about.
So the action tip here is to seta reminder.
Just just put it in, doesn't have to be any time.
(09:09):
So you can do 3 in your calendar, but it comes up in
your calendar as a reminder. Do this, this helps with atomic
habits and whatnot. Or do it when you've just had
your coffee break in the morningof your, if you're a routine
kind of person, set a reminder to pause and ask yourself what
my energy level. It's a really good way of
(09:31):
phrasing it, sort of mindfulness.
Maybe my energy level is right now and what do I need?
Do I need to go for a walk? Do I need to take a breath?
Do I need to tell other people that I'm actually overwhelmed
and I'm just, I'm overwhelmed. I'm just a little bit
overwhelmed at the moment. It's all good.
You don't need to do anything. But what I need to do is just
take a breath. I need to go for a walk.
(09:51):
I'll grab a cup of coffee outside the office, disconnect
to come back and be the best I could be.
No problem with that #5 which iswhat we've kind of talked away,
talked about as one of the strategies is to walk away to
gain perspective. I'd I actually do this?
I don't think I consciously do this, but I subconsciously do
(10:11):
this through making sure I get out at lunchtime.
Most of the time when you're stuck on a problem, OK, you're
stuck on it. So if you're on the flow state,
which I might have AI actually will have a whole episode on how
to get into flow state, which ishow I work.
I work in, you know, you work introughs.
Sometimes you don't produce as much and then other times you
(10:31):
just crank out called your flow state.
But when you're stuck on a problem so you're not in flow
state, maybe you're going in andout of meetings, step away.
OK, step away. Stepping away can unlock new
insights instead of focusing or forcing an answer, trying to get
a solution or short cutting thatby playing chess.
(10:54):
If you're an intellect and getting to the the 10 moves
predetermined moves without considering the other opponent,
take a short walk, make a cup oftea or just look out the window
for a few minutes. Your brain, we'll process this
in the background. There's so much going on that
you're not aware of in your own body and in your own brain all
(11:15):
the time. And your subconscious just needs
some time to to kind of catch upand do it's proper processing.
The action tip here is to use the 90 minute rule, which is
after 90 minutes, it's a narrower half of intense work.
Take 5 to 10 minute break soundsstupid.
(11:36):
It sounds like you're inefficient.
But if you're intensely and it'snot, look at the clock after 90
minutes of doing things that areslightly inefficient, then take
a break. It's actually about intense work
and when you're really problem solving, OK, so it's when you're
in that position that you have to do that.
It's the same for assignments. If you're doing any study, you
know, you're currently studying or, or you're doing extra study,
(11:59):
continuous study. Now the I want to talk about an
interesting conundrum here is dowe all remember the smoke O
break, right? Cigarettes.
So there's a, a home psychology about why smoking which kills
you, by the way, I've just made that really clear.
Smoke O breaks and the ability to smoke was actually healthy on
(12:23):
other layers from a mental health point of view, apart from
the chemical, you know, joys youmight get of it.
The other benefit that people found when they look back at it
was the fact that that group gottime out.
You know, people went for smoker, other people didn't
smoke. So those people were actually in
time out and they got to actually form a group and talk
(12:43):
to others. And usually they were just
gossiping, which is also healthyin some ways, depending on the
gossip. And also, yeah, they just got to
form a little cloak, which sometimes you found that a lot
of the smokers were the, the, the, the, the people that were
maybe cogs in the machine. And so the cogs in the machine
connected. So there's a whole interesting
(13:04):
dynamic around, you know, what was the benefits of that?
So how do we bring the smoker back minus the smoking and all
the vaping? And I guess that's the to walk
away, take some minutes, maybe you synchronize the 10 minute
break with some work colleagues to go for a walk at lunchtime or
something like that. Number six is to use mindfulness
(13:27):
listening in meetings. So what do we mean by that?
It's active listening. So meetings can be chaotic, but
mindfulness listening helps you focus on what's really being
said instead of preparing your response or someone else is
speaking. So we do call this active
listening. But what this is, is that a lot
(13:47):
of us, especially in a situationlike at the UB, your friends are
talking, right? They're like talking about what
they're doing on the weekend, what they're up to, and you're
actually not fully listening to them.
That's true. You are thinking about what to
say in response to that. It's the social dynamic.
(14:07):
You're going, OK, what am I, what am I up to in the weekend?
And you're not fully listening to all the details of the
description. Well, mindfulness listening is
actually when you're fully listening to that person, every
detail, the way they say it, their facial expressions and
that's proper active listening and that's really good.
So in the next next time you have a meeting, this is your
(14:28):
action tip. I want you to fully concentrate
on the speaker. Everything about the speaker,
their their eyes, their movements, their hands signals
what's not being said, how they're saying, their tone.
Pause before responding to ensure that you understand, are
asked questions, don't interrupt.
Give them chance. So when someone finishes,
(14:50):
finishes a sentence and they're like, wow, you know, we've got a
real big problem right now with distribution and we're just not
getting the trucks to where theyneed to be and time.
And now you and I could, if you're a better PA, you might
go, oh, and why is that? Well, try not saying why is
(15:10):
that? Just give them a little bit of
time, 5 seconds and then might add to that.
And that's a big problem becauseGary's told me that the truck
drivers, they're really stressedout.
And so that in extra insight youwouldn't have got if you had
spoken straight away. So give, give some time that
that's, that's a technique to the mindfulness listening and
(15:34):
act of listening #7 is to reducedecision fatigue with timed out
decisions. So as ABA, you have a lot of
decisions to make about requirements.
You're actually persuading people.
You're making decisions all the time.
People go, I'm not the decision maker.
You are a decision maker. BA is like primarily a decision
(15:54):
maker. How we approach things, we
influence all over the place. You give 2 BAS the same problem,
there will be slightly differentoutcomes.
So the only difference there is the BA.
So they've got, you've got stakeholders, you've got
priorities. Now instead of rushing, use a
time out decision when you delay, a choice to gain
(16:16):
perspective. So let me let me go through the
action item to explain that a bit better.
And the decision isn't urgent. Sleep on it.
Now some of us don't sleep because we're worried about the
decision. But this is a a term of sleep on
it, as in wait 24 hours and a first perspective often leads to
(16:37):
better judgement. So if you're running a
requirement you're not sure exactly, you know you're not
getting much from Paragon. You've done all your best in
terms of external feedback and and evidence, and now you're
needing to craft something or think about how something could
be articulated, which is generally the job of BA.
Just think about it overnight. Give yourself a little bit of
(16:59):
time instead of just going, oh, I'll just put this function in.
OK. So just just be aware of that.
And also you can talk to other people.
Using a parking lot for mental clarity is really important.
I do this in meetings all the time.
But parking lot is great for your own personal development.
So if you ever find yourself in a meeting thinking of 10
(17:19):
different things at once, createa parking lot.
Digital space usually is the best place to do it, where you
jot down distracting thoughts. You can visit them later.
I sometimes just e-mail myself and my Outlook or Google Gmail
and then and that just puts it away.
You're keeping a mental clutter away in a structured way, just
(17:39):
not over the top for worries andideas and decisions or risks.
And you're putting them in thereso you, your mind knows they're
there and you're forcing yourself to distract.
Distract yourself from that and focus on what needs to be
focused on right now, which is whatever you're doing.
OK #9 is in your day with a mental reset.
(18:02):
Before shutting down for the day, do a quick reflection.
Maybe you can put this on and post it.
What went well today? What could improve?
This helps you leave work behindand transition into personal
time. So the action tip here is to
spend 5 minutes reviewing the day and setting one intention
for tomorrow. Those things that's really like
(18:25):
a real proactive way of doing it.
I've just suggested other peopledo things that are strongly
connected to that to reset and they go to the gym after work or
they purposely will take public transport to kind of take a
longer journey home. They might drive in the car for
a while. They might listen to music.
But that transition state from the end of work to home is
(18:47):
really important. What I'm suggesting here is more
end work, so just before you leave.
And I think that is a really good way of just going.
I'm done for that day. OK, And DNLA yourself to have
that word to personal reset, which is in addition to this and
#10 create ABA reset ritual. That's right.
(19:08):
Find a short daily ritual to reset your mind.
Whether it's a quick meditation,stretching, journaling, small
mind moments of mindfulness can help prevent burnout.
So you could try this. If you can't think of anything
else, try a 2 minute. I guess there's a gratitude
exercise where you write down things that went well today.
(19:30):
Now for some people that is not their thing.
I totally understand that. So you can have another ritual.
You could say what I'm actually going to do is there's stairs at
work. I'm going to walk down a couple
of flights of stairs because my,if your legs are all good.
And as I take a step, I'm going to try and think of things that
I need to get off my, my chest. OK, Journaling is great and
(19:53):
journaling sounds too much. I would just get, I have a
diary, I have a physical diary and I write down all the things
that I need to worry about in the future that are on my mind.
They're not everything. So I don't need to go back to it
and make sure I've covered everything.
But if I'm thinking about a birthday, then I might forget or
a, a game that I need to go to or an appointment I've got, I
write it in my journal, OK. And I include business ideas in
(20:14):
there too. And maybe topics for podcasts I
do every week in there. I write down some ideas.
And that is exactly how you should do it.
OK, so that's it for today's BA Bytes.
And if you found these mindfulness and timeout
strategies helpful, take a moment to reflect on which one
you are going to start using today.
(20:36):
And if you enjoyed this episode,don't forget to subscribe and
share it with other BA's who could use a little more clarity
and calm in their work. And obviously, these tips apply
to not just BA's, so share it with your network.
Until next time, stay mindful and keep analyzing smarter.
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