You, like me, are a busy person. You’ve got stuff to do, people to see, things to think about, and you’d like to read a book or watch a little Netflix at the end of your day. When there are a lot of things happening in your life, it’s easy to get carried away with the overwhelming amount of information pouring into your brain. Sometimes, you have to find your center.
At Startup Island Summer Camp 2019, I led a workshop called building a Centerbox. Don’t worry if you missed it! This blog post gives you a nice summary of why we need a Centerbox. Even better, I’ve made an online version of my workshop. Access that for free, right here.
Let’s jump in.
Context Switching
The origins of the term “context switching” is found in computer science, specifically relating to the way that a computer processor needs to switch contexts when moving to a new task. A context switch is a cost.
Context switching is what happens when you switch from one frame of mind to another. If you’re in school, this could mean you might switch contexts from class to an extracurricular activity. Your mind may switch contexts between your work and what’s going on at home, or from project to project. You may be traveling and physically changing locations. In a busy person’s world, context switching is always happening, and there’s newness everywhere you look.
Context switching often goes hand in hand with being outside of your comfort zone. It involves a lot of adjusting, and a good deal of mental energy, too. We can get drained pretty easily when we’re switching contexts, and it sometimes feels like we’re not quite ourselves. When I notice myself getting overwhelmed and not feeling like myself, I strive to find a center.
The word center is kind of like the word core or essence. I think of being centered as being your essential self, your core self, in other words, who you really are. Being centered is being in a harmonious state of mind.
Create your “Centerbox”
I got this idea originally from Brian Helfman, co-founder of Startup Island, and I want to give him credit for setting my mind off in this direction. Before I left for my South Asian adventure in February of 2019, I was apprehensive about feeling like my authentic self amid all the changing contexts of my journey. I’d be meeting new people, seeing new places, working on impactful projects, and otherwise getting exposed to things I would take a while to process.
I needed a way to keep myself patient, focused, and energized throughout my travels. In other words, I wanted a way to feel like myself anytime I was getting out of sorts with the massive amount of change happening around me.
Brian advised me to make a toolbox to come back to myself, back to my center. I’ve decided to call it a “Centerbox”. Here’s how I initially made mine.
I sat down in a peaceful place. With my journal, I listed things that made me feel most authentically me. I thought about the moments that pass through my day, large and small, and identified those activities that bring me back to who I am. After a bit of tweaking and editing, here are some things in my Centerbox:
I feel like I can grab one of these tools whenever I’m not feeling great. Realizing that all the things in my Centerbox are precious to me, I find myself becoming more present when I do those activities and I enjoy them thoroughly, recharging in the process. When my head gets caught up in one situation or another, I have a visual reminder of things that I can do to find my center again.
Give Yourself Space and Time
An exercise like this is introspective. It takes time, space, and peace to think about these things. Give yourself the importance of prioritizing the small things that make you, you. Listen to yourself. You’re telling yourself more than you may know.
Centerbox, the Workshop
I was so taken with this idea of a Centerbox. I would often flip to that page of my journal whenever I needed a reminder of what I could do to come back to me. After I decided to use the idea for a workshop, I decided to make an online version of it. It’s a simple slideshow that you can get started with right now.
Give it a try, and let me know what you think!
Find the free online workshop at: centerbox.lytebulb.tech
Have a Centerbox you want to share? I’d love to see it. Tweet at me: @saaliklok.
