How to Work When You're Emotional

How to Work When You’re Emotional

I’m admittedly a person with big feelings. You might even go so far as to say I’m an empath. I take a lot in, which can be a total asset. It makes me actually feel what our social media communities feel. However, it means that I can also get emotional. Sometimes about random things. If I compiled a list of all the things I was emotional over during my pregnancy, you’d get a good laugh. I know I would.

Sometimes these big feelings get in the way though. For example, I like to have an emotion in mind when I am writing for a client so I can get the proper voice. If I’m feeling something else, I have to figure out how to shove it aside so I can get to the actual emotion I need to be feeling. It’s a process.

But luckily, I overshare, so here is what I do when I am feeling a little too emotional for work.

Lean Into the Emotional

Here’s the thing about emotions: If you stuff them down, they’re going to pop back up at an inappropriate time and it will likely be even worse.

When I know that I am feeling an emotion that I know is only going to snowball, I set a timer. It’s usually five to ten minutes depending on what’s going on. And then I let the emotion loose. I observe it. Then I step inside of it and let it overtake me. I discover where the emotion is in my body. I just let the whole experience happen. It sounds a little hokey, but it doesn’t have to be. Do what the moment calls for, like journalling or just a simple cry.

But when the timer goes off, the emotion stops.

I then observe how I’m feeling. Did that time give me the release I needed? Or is there still more to be explored? If there is more, I look in my schedule and I put time in to do it all again. However, I try to leave room just in case I need to repeat the exercise again.

Prioritize

The key to leaving room is by looking at my tasks. What work can’t get done because of my emotions? Is there anything that can be done regardless of how I am feeling? And what has to be done today?

Fully let go of the idea that you can get everything done. You need to create a space to help you get through this.

But you might not. If you leave time to go through your emotional journey in little droplets throughout the day, you may end up back in neutral faster than you think possible. And if you don’t…

Plan Ahead

We’re all emotional beings trying to get through life. Thankfully there are so many things you can do to make sure that there is always room for what you need as a human:

In the end, it helps to understand that we are all human and because of that, we need to leave room for our human needs. Yes, in the fast paced world of social media, that’s difficult, but it is doable.

So what do you do when you are feeling too emotional for work?

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