I have two "Top 5 list" practices that I use to reduce my anxiety when I'm feeling out of control. The first one is specific to the top 5 work issues that are troubling me. I create a spreadsheet and list all the frustrating work issues in the first column, and each week, I rank the top anxiety producers from 1-5. Over time, I can start to see the trend lines of which issues don't go away, and I focus my attention on solutions for each. You might think this practice would be stressful, as who wants to think about their troublesome issues? But, if Anxiety = Uncertainty x Powerlessness, getting clear about what feels uncertain and building a sense of agency of what you can influence helps you feel a little more in control of the situation. 

My second "Top 5 list" practice relates to the launch of a new work project of any kind (for us at MEA, it relates to the launch of our new Santa Fe campus). Ask yourself—or your team—what are the top 5 customer (or employee) complaints you're likely to hear due to this project launch? Once you've aligned around those, develop a plan for reducing the likelihood of those complaints by solving them before they happen and/or creating the best resolution paths for how you address the complaints when they do happen.

As Ben Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Proactively focusing on what's not working or might break down helps you create solutions when you're not in the heat of battle. And it might help you sleep better.

-Chip

P.S. For those of you who’ve enjoyed reading my new book “Learning to Love Midlife,” we have just a few final spots for my Baja workshop March 12-17. This workshop will catalyze you to see that your midlife can be the most transformative era of your life. I hope you’ll join me in this intimate workshop with no more than 30 people. There’s no better time than now.