How to Get Through the Workday When the Headlines are Awful

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0:57Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist. 2020 was a rough year, and the start of 2021 doesn't feel like it's getting any easier. So how do you stay focused at work?

1:17I asked Dr. Angela Neal Barnett, a professor at Kent University. She's also the director of the program for research on anxiety disorders among African Americans, also known as Prada. I wanted to ask for her advice of how we can stay focused at work and how events like what happened in DC can affect the black and brown community and what we can do about it. First of all, Ms. Angela, I just want to say thank you for taking the time to meet with me and talk to me about this because I think it's very timely and important to talk about. I want to first ask you, how are you feeling? Oh, you know, I had an aunt who, who was from the deep South.

2:03And every time you would ask her how she was doing, she would rear back her head and say, child, going poorly. And we used to laugh and laugh and laugh about that. But now I think I know exactly what Aunt Poo was talking about. So I would say very honestly that I have good days and I have bad days right now. One way that I've been able to cope is social media. It's a way for me to connect with other people, laugh at memes, and for just a few moments, forget about the horrible things that are happening outside of my four walls. But social media is also a double-edged sword. It's very easy to be caught up in the other uglier side that comes with trolls, awful comments, and resurfacing videos that are incredibly triggering that also bring more trolls and more nasty comments.

2:58And none of this stops just because I'm at work. It's actually the opposite. So one challenge I have is that my job is all about social media. Like I have to be on and a lot of other jobs are evolving to be that way too. How can how can I and others find the balance between one doing our job and by still maintaining to be on, but still stepping back and taking a breather because sometimes we can't unplug, we have to have our phones or our computers on. When you leave work, you have to leave work at work. So if your office is the bedroom or the office is the rec room or the office in the basement, then when you close the door of the office and go up the stairs, you have to leave work behind.

3:55A lot of the events like the insurrection in DC happen between 9 to 5, which means we're at work, stuck to our computers, surrounded by technology, where we're able to see updates and developments that are continuously being recirculated on our feeds and social media and in the news over and over and over again. Is that not distracting? So how do you communicate with your coworkers or your managers? they may be involved and invested in this but you're not how do you tell them hey I need a break some people just walk away and then people misinterpret what they've done and I think it's really important to remember that people cannot read your minds so it's so important to say or say, you know, right now, right now, I can't talk about this.

4:52If you're still uncomfortable saying that, then you can say something like, oh, I have some work. When you need to build up your team to handle the growing chaos at work, use Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It gives your job post the boost it needs to be seen and helps reach people with the right skills, certifications and more. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Listeners of this show will get a$75 sponsored job credit at Indeed.com slash podcast. That's Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.

5:30Low energy, unfocused, foggy. You might be dehydrated. Gatorade Zero powders have been scientifically designed to help improve hydration balance in the body. with a clinically proven electrolyte blend and no artificial colors or flavors. Great tasting hydration no matter where you're going. Shop now online or at retailers nationwide. Gatorade hydrates better than water. Is it in you? Symptoms noted are signs of mild to moderate dehydration. Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist. That people are expecting in the next hour, but I'll catch up with you at lunch or at break or whatever.

6:08But you have to be able to say what you are feeling. This is your life. This is your mental health. And it is okay to say, I cannot talk about this right now. What happened on January 6th is hard not to talk about, especially if you're Black or Brown, where a lot of these events affect us a little bit differently. I couldn't help but notice a drastic difference of how people that participated that day were treated incredibly different than those that went to D.C. last summer for the Black Lives Matter March. It just feels like we're in this space all over again, trying to explain how we feel. In this moment, how can we continue to take care of ourselves?

7:07Because it feels like we have to do that every couple of months. There are two Americas, and that's that added layer, which has an impact on our mental health. Self-care alone is not going to allow us to protect our mental health in the ways that it needs to be protected, given the relentless onslaught of systemic racism that we face. So that the care has to be also woven throughout our workplaces. What if we are in a predominantly white workspace? Because it's very scary. It's very scary for non-Black, non-Brown people to hear us say, we need our own space. Because is that racist? Is that going to alienate people, et cetera?

8:13And the fact is, is that the questions and the experiences of non-Black Brown people are not the experiences of Black Brown people. We're not asking or saying the same thing. The impact on us is different. Right now, we need our own space. And in giving us our own space, that means that down the road, we can come together with people who do not look like us. How can we stay focused while at work? In this sense, we have to be organized. We can actually use our phones, our tablets, all those kinds of things. But we have to manage the time that we spend on it. And if at all possible, we have to unplug.

9:15But it's not a big ask to say, okay, to turn it off during the lunch hour or to turn it off during the morning. But we know 24-7 with your phone in hand, no matter what you do, is just not going to be good for your mental health. This feels like something I have to continuously practice because this isn't the first time that something like this is going to happen or something major. It doesn't even have to be political, but something big that can blow up on social media that can take my attention away from what my main focus is. It is Gladwell who says if you're going to become an expert in anything, you need$10 ,000 now.

10:00When you need to build up your team to handle the growing chaos at work, use Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It gives your job post the boost it needs to be seen and helps reach people with the right skills, certifications, and more. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Listeners of this show will get a$75 sponsored job credit at Indeed.com slash podcast. That's Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Low energy, unfocused, foggy. You might be dehydrated. Gatorade Zero powders have been scientifically designed to help improve hydration balance in the body.

10:40With a clinically proven electrolyte blend and no artificial colors or flavors. Great tasting hydration, no matter where you're going. Shop now online or at retailers nationwide. Gatorade, hydrates better than water. Is it in you? Symptoms noted are signs of mild to moderate dehydration. Consult a healthcare professional if symptoms persist. That's right. So, you know, 10 ,000 hours of practicing, okay, being in this kind of environment and yet protecting my speech. I have to, before I do a Zoom call or even this interview, I have to put myself in the right mindset. So I have a theme song that I listen to.

11:31That song then puts me in the right frame of mind or in or and it soothes me enough so that I can do the meeting or I can do the interview or I'm clear in my purpose of what I'm doing in that hour or in that half hour so what's your favorite song what's the song oh right now it's uh it's Aretha Franklin and it's her version her live version of Amazing Grace. I love it. Oh, I do too, because you know it takes her a minute to say amazing. So here are the takeaways before you start searching for your theme song. Number one, focusing at work is hard, but doable. Make sure you give yourself time away from your desk.

12:27Go for a walk, turn off notifications, and remember it is okay and incredibly important for you to tell your co-workers or your managers that you're not doing so well and that you need a break. Number two, the impact of certain events is different if not heavier for black and brown people. So it's important that while at work we take the agency and ask for the space that we need in order for us to heal. Number three, as much as this is about focusing at work, it's also important that we leave work at work. When the workday is over, shut off your computers, turn off your notifications and shut your screens.

13:05Now excuse me while I find a Bad Bunny song to listen to before my next meeting.

13:32We'll see you next time.

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