Calm Before Storm - Storm Before Calm: Transforming Complexity into Simplicity
Combining Three Mental Models To Control Chaos And Create Clarity
This essay covers the 'What' and the 'Why' when it comes to decreasing stress.
What: Friends are moving from Hawaii To New Zealand.
Why: To get organized to decrease stress.
How: The 'How' is discussed in the next essay
The storm is the teacher. The calm is the mastery.
The Calm: Living In Hawaii
The Storm: Moving To New Zealand
The Lesson: Combining Two Mental Models
The Calm
"Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors." -- Origin is believed to have African roots but often attributed to Franklin D. Roosevelt
Living In Hawaii: My neighbor, Em, is a teacher, and her husband, Jay, is a nurse. They have lived in Hawaii for more than a decade. They have a home, a short commute to work, and many friends. It's a good life.
Blue Skies: When Em was a child, her father was a researcher in New Zealand. She always had fond memories of the people, country, and lifestyle.
Clouds In The Distance: Jay was recruited for a new position at a New Zealand hospital, and they decided to move. They now have four months before he begins, and they face the daunting task of selling their home, cars, furniture, and appliances while navigating the complexities of relocating with their four-year-old.
I often saw Em on her morning walk; she was a bit more stressed each time we met.
The Storm
"There are some things you learn best in calm and some in storm." --Willa Cather
Moving To New Zealand: Their initial excitement quickly evolved into an endless storm of overwhelming tasks and decisions. They had to find housing, secure work visas, set up bank accounts, purchase a right-hand side drive car, obtain driver's licenses, and more.
She told me she had so many things to do her head hurt.
Controlling The Weather: I said, "Em, what if you could control all those tasks instead of tasks controlling you?"
"The darkness of the storm determines the brightness of the rainbow." --Matshona Dhliwayo
"HOW?" she asked, exasperated. "There is so much to do -- too much to do!"
Conquering Chaos: "Here's how," I replied. "Let's combine two mental models: Miller's Law and the Eisenhower Matrix."
She looked a little uncertain at first. Her mind was already overloaded, and she did not need additional clutter.
Complex Before Simple - Complexity Is The Mask Hiding Simplicity
Turning the Storm into Calm
Increasing Mental Space By Decreasing Cognitive Load: I said, "We are going to reorganize your mind clutter into manageable chunks and get rid of items that are not important or urgent. At first, it will seem unlikely, but when the two concepts are combined, a powerful antidote to cognitive overload is created. I will show you how these seemingly disparate ideas can be transformed into an effective technique for mental decluttering, stress reduction, and enhanced productivity."
She said it sounded like a mouthful... but she was ready.
Thought Banking: I said, "Imagine all your great ideas, good ideas, and mental clutter—the things you’re constantly trying to remember and juggle. Now, instead of letting them overwhelm you, deposit them into a trusted system—whether it’s an analog notebook or a digital app. These thoughts aren’t just fleeting distractions anymore; they’re valuable assets, stored and ready for you to access whenever you need them. Your mind becomes like a bank, with your thoughts as currency, organized and available to help you focus on what truly matters right now."
Here is the science behind this concept.
Miller's Law: Cognitive psychologist George A. Miller, from Harvard University's Department of Psychology, conducted a study on memory and published his findings in 1956. It became known as Miller's Law.
The Power Of Miller's Law - Two Major Findings: Miller discovered two key insights; the first was how many bits of information the average person can manageably keep in their mind, and the second was that we can increase that capacity by using chunking. Each chunk can count as a single element within the 7±2 constraint.
5 to 9 Items At A Time: According to his research, the average person can typically hold about seven plus or minus two (7±2) informational elements. We tend to become overwhelmed or need help remembering when we exceed this limit.
Consider you have an extensive shopping list with 35 seemingly random items listed. Most people could not walk into a grocery store and mentally recall every item.
Chunking: This '5-9 pieces' capacity can increase slightly through 'chunking.' In other words, we combine smaller items into logical groups.
One Small Chunk For Man: For our shopping list, we could chunk this into different sections, like produce, dairy, cleaning supplies, beverages, etc. The advantage of chunking is that while you still have 35 shopping items, it is less overwhelming and much less stressful once organized into groupings.
Here's another everyday example.
Applying Miller's Law To US Phone Numbers: Take the phone number 7145559293. Breaking this 10-digit US phone number into three chunks—area code, central office code (prefix), and line number—makes it much easier to recall (714-555-9293). Of course, the core focus of the phone numbers is the seven digits after the area code (555-9293).
Chunking Makes Manageable: This method helps reduce cognitive load and makes the system user-friendly. It's an intelligent application revealing how understanding human memory can lead to better everyday solutions.
Important Stuff: Then, I shared the next step with Em - the Eisenhower Matrix.
Important Things First: The Eisenhower Matrix is a simple visual tool that helps us differentiate between what's urgent, important, and everything else. By categorizing tasks into four quadrants—important and urgent, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important—we can decrease cognitive clutter.
"What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important." --Dwight D. Eisenhower
Was The Eisenhower Matrix Created By Eisenhower? The quote above was the impetus for this concept. While Eisenhower is often credited with the idea, he did not refine the current matrix edition.
Who Refined And Popularized The Eisenhower Matrix? The Eisenhower Matrix was refined and popularized by Stephen Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey developed Eisenhower's concept into a practical tool for prioritizing tasks and managing time more effectively. The matrix is based on Eisenhower's renowned decision-making process, emphasizing the distinction between urgent and important tasks.
Shopping List vs. Moving List: Imagine Em's to-do list as an extensive shopping list, but in her case, only some things must be bought simultaneously.
I shared this example with Em.
Snow Globe: Now, let's bring these concepts together with an analogy. Imagine your mind as a snow globe; within it, 50 coins are swirling around. Pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, 50-cent pieces, and even dollar coins are randomly moving. Each coin represents a thought, task, or idea.
That's a lot of coins!
Since they are all randomly moving together, they appear to have equal value. But, you know they don't.
If you reach inside the snow globe and grab many coins at once, you may end up with a handful of pennies and miss out on the dollars.
Assign Value: The pennies are the least important tasks, and the dollar coins are the most important.
"The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don't." --Joshua Becker
The More Important Coins: Now, if you reach inside the snow globe, your strategy is to focus on the 50-cent and dollar coins.
The Funnel Tool - Don't, Delay, Do, Today: I use a simple rhyming method to determine where 'things' go within the Eisenhower Matrix: Don't - Delay - Do - Today.
From Clutter to Clarity - Let Logic Sort The Coins: Here is how it works. We will assume the following percentages exist for most 'projects.'
Don't - Pennies, Nickels, Dimes: Most tasks, perhaps a little more than half, are typically Not Important and Not Urgent. Think of these items as the 'Power of No.'
Delay - Quarters: About a quarter of tasks are Urgent but not Important. An effective way to reframe this level is 'The Joy of Missing Out (JOMO)'. In effect, embrace the freedom that comes from not trying to do everything everywhere and all at once.
Do - 50-Cent Pieces: A small percentage of tasks are usually Important and Not (Yet) Urgent. Consider this as effectively 'The 80/20 Rule.' Focus on the 20% of tasks that yield 80% of results.
Today - Dollar Coins: Lastly, about five percent of your to-do list is Important and Urgent. This is the '5% Rule' -- generally, only about five percent of what you have to could be considered both Important and Urgent.
Don't Nickel And Dime Yourself: You drop the coins from the snow globe or to-do list in the Don't - Delay - Do - Today funnel. The pennies, nickels, and dimes are captured first. Then, the quarters and 50-cent pieces. Finally, the dollar coins end up in the 'Important Slot' for the most important tasks.
The Productivity Paradox - Less Input, More Output: When implementing the Eisenhower Matrix, you have fewer things to do and more impact for each item accomplished.
Three elements are required to achieve important things: organization, a plan, and focus.
Bringing It All Together
How Does This Apply To Em And Jay Moving To New Zealand... Or You, With Too Many Things To Do? We are ready to implement the combined wisdom of Miller's Law and the Eisenhower Matrix.
Step 1 - Recognize the Limitations (Miller's Law): Understand that your brain can only effectively manage a handful of items at a time. This means the first task isn't to act but to prioritize. Trying to focus on all 50 thoughts simultaneously is a recipe for stress and inefficiency.
Step 2 - Prioritize (Don't - Delay - Do - Today): Sort your tasks to determine which will have the most impact and are the most important.
Step 3 - Categorize and Prioritize (Eisenhower Matrix, aka The Matrix Reloaded): Place those tasks into your Eisenhower Matrix. Start with the top quadrant of your Eisenhower Matrix and only do tasks in the quadrant.
Note that you may have timing issues or other constraints (Visa, passport, etc.) that prevent you from completing the Important quadrant. In such cases, move to the second quadrant and start there.
Of course, there may be lesser tasks to do that can be combined (chunked) with an important item, so sometimes it is efficient to do so... but rarely.
"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." --Peter Drucker
Conclusion - The Paradox of Productive Simplicity: Miller's Law trims your to-do list and the Eisenhower Matrix allows you to identify and focus on what really is important and makes a difference.
Effective vs. Efficient - Sculpt Two Masterpieces from One Block of Stone: When you implement Miller's Law with the Eisenhower Matrix, you create a mental environment that enables clarity, reduces stress, and ultimately leads to greater achievement and fulfillment. As a result of this effectiveness, efficiency becomes an automatic by-product.
The Calm After the Storm: As you learn and master these mental models, you confirm that 'Less Really Is More.'
What, Why, How: Now that you have read about the 'What' and 'Why,' it is time for the 'How.' Follow this link to learn about 3 Goals, 3 Rules, 3 Minutes.
"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." --Louisa May Alcott
Update - The Calm Was Always Inside The Storm: I see Em about three times a week. She is about five weeks from moving. I always ask her about the upcoming move and 'how it is going.' She calmly replies, "I just needed a system to help me with the uncertainty."
As for her four-year-old son, I now call him the 'Kiwi Kid.'
Your Thoughts May Vary: Thought Improvement welcomes your constructive comments and invites you to share your perspectives and experiences. Together, we can all refine our understanding and application of these concepts.
Click here for our Disclaimers, Disclosures, Disavowals, And Declarations (aka - I told you so).