Panic is a strong and sudden sensation that dominates or prevents reason and logical thinking. It causes overwhelming anxiety and agitation to its victim. Panic is infectious. It easily spreads and influences other people nearby. At work, panic sets in when things get out of hand, usually as result
of multitasking. Before it causes uncontrolled chaos and great harm, here are some emergency measures you can take stop it immediately:
• Stop immediately. Drop whatever it is you are doing. Take a few deep breaths until you regain composure. This is an important step because the air you inhale has calming affects the nervous system thus relieving stress and anxiety. As you breathe out, visualize the cause of your stress going with it. This is actually instant meditation.
• Walk away from your desk. Socialize. This is an effective detoxifier of built-in negative vibrations left within you. Call up a few friends to ventilate your anxiety. This is one instant when checking on your Facebook and other social media accounts helps restore productivity because it temporarily takes your mind off of things that stress you. This exercise may cause some downtime in your productivity but take responsibility for it. A delay in your productiveness is better than stopping it altogether due to panic. However, make sure you do not make this a habitual justification for spending long hours on the social media.
• Reinstate your goal. Amidst the chaos in your mind and frantic activities as you panic, you must have blurred out the actual purpose you had for all the activities that overwhelmed you. After taking regaining your composure, it is time to reinstate your goal and focus your attention to it alone. Forget all the activities you did when panic set in. Once your mind is clear, sit down and write down each step you should do. Without a clearly defined plan, you are bound to repeat the things that caused you to be overwhelmed. Discard all side-topics that re-enter your mind and concentrate only on those that directly concern your goal. Going off-tangent from your goal is often the cause of confusion and chaos that eventually trigger panic.
Clearing your mind every now and then is vital in accomplishing your business goals. Do not sweat the details and allow yourself some social interaction. Caring for both your physical and mental needs is necessary to be able to deal with any level of chaos and avoid panic.