Mental chocolate: done well, chocolate is healthy

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By Duncan Anderson. To see all blogs click here.

Reading time: 4 mins

Summary

  • Mental Chocolate tasks are tasks with such positive energy that they override whatever your current headspace is to be ‘positive’. 

  • I use Mental Chocolate tasks strategically through a week to have a break and / or override (break myself out of) a drained place. 

  • Jingle: IMO strategically using Mental Chocolate tasks is a healthy headspace hack. 

  • Jingle #2:

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Is chocolate healthy or unhealthy? 

  • If you ate chocolate for all caloric intake it would likely be very unhealthy. 

  • However if you eat chocolate a couple of times a week and doing this helps you eat healthy for the other meals as you know you can look forward to some chocolate; then it’s likely overall eating chocolate a couple of times a week is ‘healthy’. 


What is Mental Chocolate? 

  • IMO each work task comes with an ‘energy’ attached to it: from super draining to super energising. 

    • Some work tasks are super draining. 

    • Some work tasks are energising if done at the right time.

    • And, some work tasks are super energising no matter what time they are done! These tasks I call Mental Chocolate tasks. 

  • Examples of Mental Chocolate for DA: 

    • Example 1: I’ve found a new product like ‘Open Middle Maths’ that I can’t wait to spend time to try and understand. 

    • Example 2: I want to write a new internal blog on an updated view of what the long term goal for secondary education could be. It’s something that I can’t wait to write! 

    • Example 3: there is a new strategy blog from a part of Edrolo, yay! Can’t wait to read it and process! 


Life is not about time management, life is about energy management

  • I try to find and set aside 1-4 hours of Mental Chocolate tasks a week that I use if I’m super drained at work as a ‘pick me up’. 

  • My energy levels at work can vary massively from energised to super drained. 

    • While I do think one should try and accept some things (vs be drained or energised by an event) I don’t think one should accept everything. 

    • Some things are awesome and IMO you should get excited and happy from them. 

    • Some things are crap and IMO it’s ok for one to be drained and unhappy about them. Done well this can serve as an impetus to something about the root cause of the draining event. 

  • Normally I’ll get super drained 0-3x times a week. When this happens I either take a break… or wheel out some Mental Chocolate :) 

    • Doing a normal work task when I’m super drained often = frustration

    • Doing a Mental Chocolate work task when I’m super drained = happy and a system break out of the drained state. 

    • Doing a Mental Chocolate work task when I’m super drained = like having a holiday form work

    • Doing a Mental Chocolate work task when I’m super drained = wiping my mind of whatever was getting it down. The Mental Chocolate is so energising and engaging that the draining thing occupies zero headspace.

    • Doing a Mental Chocolate work task when I’m super drained = a healthy headspace hack. Don’t just sit in the drainedness. Don’t just try and mind over matter and ‘accept’ to try to get to enquantimity. 


Visual representation

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  • Worded example for the visualisation. 

  • Let's say something really bad and as such draining had happened like a bad personnel issue. After addressing the issue you are down in the dumps with low motivation and drained etc. Time for some of the mental chocolate you had set aside this week. 1-2 hours of mental chocolate and your energy is back! 

  • Enjoyment of tasks = 1. Existing energy state * 2. Energy of task

    • “2. Energy of task” taxonomy: 

      • Draining = lowers your mental headspace

      • Neutral = neutral to your mental headspace

      • Energising = improves your mental headspace

      • Mental Chocolate = change in your mental headspace to energised. 

    • Comment

      • In some respects I think of Mental Chocolate like a magic trick, imagine if you could magically snap yourself out of drained and unmotivated into energised, not thinking about your troubles, enjoying things headspace? Well I think it might be possible with Mental Chocolate.

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  • When used as a pickup after a draining event, it can also get your productivity back on track to avoid spiralling into a drained abyss

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  • If you want to read another blog I wrote on managing your energy please see here. 


If you only take one thing away

  • IMO either manage your energy or it will manage you. 

  • Calmness is a super power. 

    • IMO one strategy for improving your calm capabilities is meditation. 

    • When you meditate and concentrate on your breath it’s possible to slowly let go of whatever emotions are kicking about and when you have let go of all emotions what you are left with is ‘calm’. 

    • I think that one articulation of meditation is practicing and strengthening your ability to get to calm. 

  • IMO another crucial tool to manage your energy level (aka mental headspace) is to proactively use Mental Chocolate tasks during your week to get your energy levels to work for you. 

  • Often your headspace might be a consequence of work tasks… but with Mental Chocolate you can task your headspace to work for you!