At Chapters 1 & 2, you considered your feelings then placed them on a Minus10-to-Plus10 Scale.

You defined the "Low" and "High" ends of the range of your feelings and the "Norm":

In Chapter 3 you considered whether or not you were fully satisfied with these 3 measures of your work-feelings. If you are still reading then you are doing that because you are not fully satisfied. Also, in Chapter 4 you considered the first fundamental choice - Determine how to become satisfied with the Low, Norm, and High feelings you experience while you work.  

Having completed that thought process, you decided to explore the second fundamental choice, which is:

Determine how to raise at least one of your Low, Norm, or High feelings you experience at work.

There are many ways to go about raising - improving - the feelings you experience at work. And, that is the topic of the following chapters. To help you place more detail around your feelings, refer to the Spectrum of Feelings presented in Chapter 1. 

You must set a Goal for your feelings Norm. To do this you must first select one of the 3 Plus Zones:

Acceptance Zone: Plus1 to Plus4

Enjoyment Zone: Plus4 to Plus7

Enthusiasm Zone: Plus7 to Plus9

Acceptance Zone: Plus1 to Plus4

If you select this zone for your Norm then you are deciding that work is not going to add enjoyment to your life. In general, your workdays will not be uncomfortable...they will be comfortable to the extent they will, on average, at least be tolerable [Plus1] and at best be right at the border of enjoyable [Plus4]. Also, this zone must offer an opportunity for you to raise your current Norm. So, your current Norm must be no higher than Plus3 and likely Plus2 or lower.

Enjoyment Zone: Plus4 to Plus7

If you select this zone for your Norm then you are deciding that work is going to be an important and enjoyable aspect of your life. Your work experiences will not be thrilling, but they will be at least enjoyable. In general, you will not complain about work; you will regularly think about and mention the positive things you experience at work. Also, this zone must offer an opportunity for you to raise your current Norm. So, your current Norm must be no higher than Plus7 and likely Plus6 or lower.

Enthusiasm Zone: Plus7 to Plus9

If you select this zone for your Norm then you are deciding that work is a major aspect of your life. Work will be self-actualizing. Work will offer some of your most-positive life experiences. Work will be exciting. You will be inspired by work....and everyone who works with you will know it. Also, this zone must offer an opportunity for you to raise your current Norm. So, your current Norm must be no higher than Plus8 and likely Plus7 or lower.

So, when you think about the way you want to feel about your future work...which Plus Zone do you select for your Norm:

Enthusiasm Zone? or Enjoyment Zone? or Acceptance Zone?

Answer:  my Norm will be in the  ________________ Zone.

It seems to me - when people feel overwhelmed and unable to cope with the sheer volume of things on the go, that's precisely when the best thing to do is stop everything, get present, and get grounded.

To explain:

Stop Everything!

Really, we all know that 99% of the time we can stop whatever we are doing and have a little time out. That applies regardless of how busy we feel. The only time it might not apply is when we are in the midst of an extreme emergency. Even then, as Julius Caesar illustrated,  it may still be possible to stop everything to have a time out from the heat of the action. And, time outs are helpful: they provide relief from stress and an opportunity to re-energize...even if it is only a small amount of energy it could be a vital amount, when recovered.

Get Present!

While some folks do this naturally [see Comment], most do not. People get lost in time: they spend lots of time agonizing over undesirable things done and said in the past; they spend lots of time worrying about undesirable things that may happen in the future. Meanwhile, they miss out on the present...they miss the Power of Now.

Get Grounded!

Some things are urgent; some things are important; very few things are both. There is a saying, an adage, "Where there is smoke there is fire". When it comes to 'Time Management', this saying is wrong. When it comes to 'Time Management', the saying should be, "Where there is smoke there is fire...or maybe it's just a smoke screen?...or maybe that's not even smoke, maybe it's just a whole bunch of dust up in the air?" Metaphors aside - people who feel they are dealing and struggling with too many things will benefit from asking questions like: "Is this task really that important?" and "Are any of these things really that important?" Sometimes the answer will be "Yes"...but, that will not always be the answer.

Consider the first fundamental choice presented in Chapter 3:

Determine how to become satisfied with the Low, Norm, and High feelings you experience while at work.

Why would you want to do this?

Why would you want to accept or learn to live with less-than-optimal feelings during your work-life?

There are many reasons why you may want to accept or learn to live with your Low, Norm, and High. Some of the reasons are good reasons; some of the reasons are not good reasons. That's a judgment you can and should take the time to make. First, write out a list of possible reasons then take some time to think about each one. Is it a good reason?  If so, keep it on your list. If not, discard it. Make sure your list only contains good reasons [to accept or learn to live with less-than-optimal feelings during your work-life].

Here are some possible reasons to help you get started on your list:

• Work is a means to an end. Work is a necessary evil that provides money, which I need for other things.
• I am too busy to think about how I feel at work.
• My brain can only handle so much and I am using it to improve in other areas of my life.
• ___________________________________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________________________________
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When that right time arrives, return to read the next chapter.