It is no secret that we are living under many constraints these days and there seems to be a crunch in our resources, which we took for granted earlier. Yes, there is some ‘inversing’ taking place here, for example, the long hours of commute have reduced. But the pros and cons are in a tight balance.
However, this has also led us to sort of develop a third eye of sorts: we are now seeing everything with a different perspective. We are finding ideas and opportunities at the most unlikely of places. In other words, we have learned a remarkable thing: we have understood the value of our resources and we are using them optimally, to their maximum potential. This is something which might not have been achieved in a situation of abundance.
With this in mind, let us jump into the lessons we have learnt about making the best possible use of our resources!
Overturning the Lack of Abundance:
When we have limited resources, our attitude changes from what it is when we are working in abundance. We cease to take things for granted, and we strive to make the best use of what is available.
Take for example how all those people who don’t have a study or a proper work area in their homes have come up with ideas to create a makeshift workspace, making the best possible use of resources they have at hand. People have been converting their dining tables into office desks, or making use of old unused spaces in their homes in innovative ways.
Or take for example the use of internet. Instead of procrastinating and endless scrolling, people are making sure they use their home internets at the best of times when the speed is optimal.
In an abundant situation, there was a high possibility that we often wasted resources, and took them for granted, resulting in reduced efficiency. This newfound attitude of making the best use of the available resources remains beneficial, whether someone is working from home or has returned to the office.
No Decision Fatigue:
‘Decision fatigue’, a term used in psychology, is when the quality of decisions is deteriorated because of spending too much time to reach a decision. Contrary to expectations, a long session spent on pondering over each and every minute detail can actually result in poor decision making.
Because of limited choices and options, whether of time or resources, we now have a limited number of strategies to choose from, leading to a relatively quick process of decision making. In other words, we aren’t spoilt by choices, leading to less over-thinking over the minutiae and more action-taking keeping the big picture in mind.
Expectations and Creativity:
In an abundant situation, our expectations would skyrocket; we wanted a project to only be a certain way- nothing less; we wanted to reach that target no matter what. Such an attitude often led to high levels of mental and physical stress.
Now that we have limited resources, we keep our expectations realistic. We work keeping the limitations in mind. There is a huge shift in our attitude, leading to lower levels of stress, and a much calmer strategizing: instead of focusing on being the best ever, we focus on making use of the best possibilities. Lack of resources has forced us to be creative.
And now that we know where to limit our expectations, our minds are suddenly free from the drive for perfectionism, and we are being able to harmonise work life and home life, something we didn’t think was possible!
As we can see, we have learned to value our resources, and we have started to work productively even with the various types of constraints, be it those of time, resources, and options. We are steering clear of sluggishness and getting a push. We are keeping our expectations realistic and not falling into harmful competitiveness. We are now seeing possibilities.