I’ve been doing a fair bit of travelling over the past month, so I’ve sat through several repetitions of the airline safety reminders that are delivered before takeoff on commercial flights. Whether spoken by a flight attendant or played on an audio or video recording, the familiar words remind passengers how to securely fasten their seat belts, how to put on an oxygen mask in the event of a loss of cabin pressure, and how to exit the aircraft during an emergency.
If you fly frequently, it’s easy to tune out during these safety reminders: you’ve heard it before, you already have your seatbelt fastened, and you’re paying more attention to your reading material. But ever since I read Amanda Ripley’s fascinating book The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes–and Why, I take 15 seconds to turn my head and identify the exits nearest to my seat.
Much of Ripley’s book is concerned with how the brain responds to extreme stress, like earthquakes, accidents, or other unusual disasters. Under catastrophic stress, people often ignore key facts, delay making decisions, or experience paralyzing fear. Your conscious mind, controlled by the brain’s neocortex, just can’t respond adequately to all the new and surprising elements of the situation. One of the things that comes through many of her examples is that if you “pre-load” your brain with bits of key information, like the location of the exits, that information will be more readily available to you should you actually need it.
So what does this have to do with focus and productivity?
Identify the Exits
Most of us look at our calendars and to-do lists and think primarily about all the things we plan to do, the places we plan to go, and the events we’ll attend. We don’t usually think about the exits.
But things happen.
A project might take longer than you anticipated. Supplies, ingredients, or other materials might be delayed in shipment, out of stock, or otherwise unavailable. You or a family member might get sick. Your car, furnace, or plumbing might need unexpected repairs.
Even several seemingly minor things, if they all occur at the same time, can require you to make adjustments in your plans and expectations. If you’ve already identified the exits before a problem occurs, you’ll be better equipped to respond appropriately, even if you’re sick or stressed.
So take a few moments and think about the week or month ahead:
- which tasks could be postponed if necessary?
- which events could be skipped?
- which priorities could be shifted?
Keep in Mind the Nearest Exit May be Behind You
The airline safety instructions remind passengers of a life-saving tip, which is that the closest exit may not be in front of you, or in the direction in which the crowd is moving. Turning your head to check where the exits lie makes this unexpected truth part of the reality your brain could use to help you survive, should it be necessary.
Checking for the “exits” in your schedule doesn’t mean that you will need to use them. It just means you know where they are. If something comes up this week, where could you make adjustments if you had to? What do you tend to assume is fixed that might actually be flexible?
Relax and Enjoy the Flight
Once you’ve looked to see where the exits are, you don’t need to keep looking at them during the flight. It’s the same with your weekly or monthly planning. Just make a note of what could be adjusted if necessary, and get on with your projects and plans.