When you miss something big, you may ask yourself: What’s wrong with me? How did I not notice? How did I mess this up?
We all know the feeling of being overworked. You’re exhausted, stressed, and not acting like yourself. Maybe there are so many looming deadlines that you’re distracted during the times you’re meeting with your team. Maybe there’s so little free time that you can’t catch up with one of your biggest customers. Or, maybe, there are so many internal issues that you didn’t even see the disruption coming that shook your company to its core.
When you miss something big, you may ask yourself: What’s wrong with me? How did I not notice? How did I mess this up?
…if your mind is consumed with the thoughts of something pressing, there just isn’t enough room leftover to think about anything else.
The answer may lie in the psychological concepts of “scarcity” and “bandwidth.” Your mind is programmed to respond to a scarcity, or the absence of something, by giving you tunnel vision for the thing you are missing. This tunnel vision is the result of your bandwidth being at full capacity—if your mind is consumed with the thoughts of something pressing, there just isn’t enough room leftover to think about anything else.[1]
For example, if you’re starving while you’re in a meeting, chances are, all you can think about is what you’re having for lunch, not what’s going on in the meeting. The same concept applies to other parts of our work lives. If you’re overworked or worried about another internal problem, such as a feuding team or declining sales, you may get tunnel vision and not be able to see the big picture within your company or what may be shifting in the industry.
…if you were solely focused on the digital evolution or on something else that’s causing you distress, such as a dysfunctional team, you might have missed the newest possible disruptor…
Here’s an example.
Recently, The New York Times published an article with the headline, “Tiny Books Fit in One Hand. Will They Change the Way We Read?” In the publishing industry, it’s easy to get caught up in the major disruptor: E-books. E-books have changed the industry profoundly for the last decade, but if you were solely focused on the digital evolution or on something else that’s causing you distress, such as a dysfunctional team, you might have missed the newest possible disruptor—“Flipbacks”— pocket-sized, horizontal books that have become popular in the Netherlands and are marketed towards a generation that grew up with smartphones. One publisher in the U.S. has already started testing the new format and is hoping it will change the way we read.[2]
So, how can you avoid maxing out your bandwidth?
1. Notice the opportunities around you by thinking about the unfamiliar ways a scenario may play out in the big picture.
2. Challenge your comfort zone by leaning in when things don’t go the way you expect them to.
3. Focus on being present in the moment you are in.
Next time you’re feeling tunneled in with a one-track mind, take the time to remove the blinders, put yourself in the present and think about what else could be occurring in your environment. Could something unexpected be happening? Facing your fears head on will help you avoid being blindsided, perform better and put out more fires.
By taking a look at the big picture, you’ll be able to see what’s beyond the tunnel and navigate you – and your company—to success.
[1] Schmidt, J., Klahr, R., Penman, M., Connelly, C., Benderev, C., Shah, P., & Kwerel, L. (Producers). (2018, October 26). Radio replay: Too little, too much. Hidden Brain. Podcast retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/10/24/660231760/radio-replay-too-little-too-much [2] Alter, A. (2018, October 29). Tiny books fit in one hand. Will they change the way we read? The New York Times, p. B1. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/business/mini-books-pocket-john-green.html
