5 ways to stop overthinking at work

Overthinking is not a useful activity, but most people do it to some degree. At work or in our company, this can be a serious obstacle. An email arrives and we read each line, trying to decipher the hidden meanings. A customer leaves and we question our self-esteem or wonder if we said something we shouldn't have said. A presentation doesn't get the feedback we expect, a colleague makes a comment that seems passive aggressive, and we speculate on the meaning of every conversation or the possible outcomes of every decision.

Acting thoughtfully and thoughtfully is what great leaders do, but when thinking gets in the way of action or affects your mood, it's time for a change. Here are five ways to stop overthinking at work.

1. Determine what is real

Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side, write “real” and on the right, “not real”. Then, analyze the situation that you are overthinking to differentiate the two. What really happened and what is an interpretation? What are cold hard facts and what is speculation, conjecture or argument?

It is often not the events themselves that are harmful, it is our pessimistic, exaggerated and sometimes downright misinterpretation of them that leads to anxiety and confidence blows. Actual: The thing that actually happened. Not real: what it might mean, what people might think. Focus only on the left side of the page and go from there. Reading events, comments, questions and conversations is a downward spiral that goes nowhere. If you're not sure what something means, ask. Let someone else fill in the knowledge gap instead of filling it with useless speculation.

2. Don't let the lizard lead

There are two versions of you, your higher self and your lower self. Your higher self is the best of you. Confident, assertive and focused on your mission. Peaceful, kind, with nothing to prove. The best leaders lead from here. Your lower self is your version of the lizard brain; the worst possible you. Ruled by the amygdala, driven by fear, judgment and separation. Obsessed with competition, battening down the hatches, flying away and convinced that the future is terrible.

Only make business decisions when you are your higher self. Only have important conversations with your team when you are your higher self. Unless you are that version of yourself, hold back. Your higher self plans for the long term, gives the benefit of the doubt, and is firm but fair. The lower version of the self seeks short-term gain, is greedy and divisive, and believes there isn't enough for everyone. Your lizard brain makes mistakes because it's ruled by emotion. He says things he later regrets and makes decisions he can't go back and undo. The more you lead with your lizard, the more you lead with fear and the more you think about everything you said you didn't mean to say.

Acting from fear and its inevitable overthinking will lead to reactive movements and suboptimal conversations, which will bring undesirable results. The cycle continues as you make worse and worse decisions and think about them even more.

3. Understand and create boundaries

If you don't have your own boundaries, you'll see someone else's as a threat. You'll assume they're unavailable if they don't want your help, or interpret their actions as aloof, judgmental, or with hidden meaning. Worrying about what others might think of you can change your actions. Instead of turning off devices to browse your list, you remain available in case they have a question. You avoid saying what you want for fear of offending. You work on their terms and put your own agenda aside.

Without your own set plan of action for your day, week, and month, smaller tasks creep in and work is created for idle hands. When you're not doing anything useful yourself, your focus is on the people around you and what they might be doing. There is room to overthink so that the thoughts run away with you. Set your own boundaries. Determine how you will spend your time and let stocks...