Being an SBL, we are permanently thinking about a million and one things. It’s how we manage to keep so many plates spinning simultaneously, but it’s also how we can walk into analysis paralysis and lose more than a few good night’s sleeps.
It’s a fine line between thinking at an appropriate level and overthinking. Now it’s entirely possible I’ve been overthinking about overthinking, but it seems to me that there are a few different ways that this can play out. And that means a few different approaches when it comes to shutting down the overthinking process and getting back a more useful level.
The Issue: Ruminating
Even been stuck in an endless loop of thoughts about a past event? The classic woulda, shoulda, coulda scenario can be horrendously destructive if you let it. Maybe you are ruminating on a negative appraisal, an inspection that was less than stellar or an off-hand comment that you just can’t let go.
The fix: Schedule in some time to thing and refuse to let it happen outside of this. Open up that calendar and time block it. Having a constrained amount of time of 15-30 mins will limit your thoughts from going wild. Then, split your worries into two piles – those you can control and those you can’t. If you can’t control it, it’s time to let it go. If you can control it, use the time to start strategising what you can do to improve the situation.
The Issue: Mystic Megging It
The reverse type of overthinking is when you are so future-focused, you can’t get anything done in the here and now. Contingency planning is a great skill, but if you are stuck focusing on every eventuality, you can end up holding yourself back. When something is utterly up to us, it’s easy to start spending every ounce of energy planning a dozen what if scenarios, but this can make us feel agitated and lead to a growing to-do list while we can’t move forward.
The fix: Use your skill to your advantage. Instead of looking to potential futures where something went wrong, spend some time thinking about the potential futures where something went right! Or where something went wrong, but you were able to correct it. You don’t need a plan for every single situation. You need to keep your eye on the ball and be prepared for the most likely scenarios. You are smart and adaptive. If something else crops up, you will deal with it just fine.
The Issue: Analysis Paralysis
We have all been there (me more times than I care to admit!). You dive into a project, but before you know you find out you dove straight into the deep end. You keep on researching… and researching… and testing… Yes, considering all the options and facts is important, but after a while, you end up deep in the weeds looking at a tiny subsection of a single element of a massive project. It’s like concentrating on which doorknob is the right choice hour after hour when the project scope is to build a new school building. Yes, the doorknob is important (if you don’t have one, you’re in trouble!), but once you’ve found one that does the job, 10 more hours of sifting through information isn’t overly helpful!
The fix: Stop trying to be the perfect SBL making only perfect decisions. Some decisions need perfection; others just need to be good enough. Build confidence in your ability to tell the difference so you can spend your precious time on the things that make the most impact while you confidently plough on with the rest. Of course, you didn’t become an overthinking overnight, and it’s probably one of the reasons you are so well suited to being an SBL. We have so much to consider, so many decisions to be made, and a constant influx of new information from the SLT, the parents, the government, even the postman has good advice! But at the heart of it, overthinking stems from a lack of confidence, and that can be hard to overcome. Some of it comes from experience (you’ll see what mattered and what didn’t), but some of it needs to come from within. Yes, we could get trapped in a cycle of overthinking, but if we can believe in ourselves to make the right decisions, then maybe it will feel just a little easier to stop.