It was an inevitable response. My computer would be doing something annoying or worrisome, and I would call over our de facto IT guy (the co-worker who wasn't intimidated by technology). And what did he ask me every time? "Did you reboot?" Every time I would hang my head and say no, then I'd reboot, and 9 times out of 10, that did the trick.
It turns out it works on humans too. When I worked in a very stressful environment, when I felt like I couldn't take any more, I would not just reboot my computer. I rebooted myself. I'd take some deep breaths, walk mindfully to the ladies' room, visit a co-worker for a moment, and come back to my desk ready to begin again. The physical act of restarting my computer and reentering my environment helped reset my mindset.
I'm in a much less stressful work environment now but I still get flustered at times. I restart my computer, walk away from my desk, take a few deep breaths, and then get back to work.
Stressed? Frustrated? Overwhelmed?
Whether you are working on a computer or not, you can always reboot.
Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash