Oddly, I don’t talk about myself or my personal goals on this blog very often. But today is a special day to me as it marks the day I’ve made it around the sun one more time. This month is also going to suck. I’m slated for jury duty not just once, but twice. Back to back weeks of listening to other’s problems instead of solving my own.

Or is it?

You can always find wisdom in the worst of things.

Sometimes that wisdom is an example of what not to do. Other times there are real gems in the case study. As it stands, I know nothing about the cases I might be selected for. It might be that I’m not even selected. Either way, I’ll learn the process. I’ll study what they ask, how they ask it. I’ll see their showmanship as they navigate around the courtroom and work their domain.

Will this ever help me? Who knows. Here’s hoping I’ll never have to be in court other than as a juror, but you never know what the future holds.

But there is more to learn.

I’m learning that flexibility is truly key. The courts don’t work with you nor your schedule nor your needs. I need to be able to plan things out, otherwise my anxiety skyrockets. And I need to stick to that plan or my ADHD takes over. Beyond that, I have a small company that relies on me working with clients to bring in money. Any failure in that and Insanitek dies for a while.

Given the potential consequences, I’m facing the challenge of how to keep all our current clients despite the schedule being thrown off for a minimum of two weeks. After all, if the case goes over a week, what’s the long term impact on Insanitek? How can I continue to serve clients and bringing in the money in order to pay our team?

It starts with communication.

The first thing I did when I received the notices were to contact the Insanitek team and each client. I wanted transparency to be at the forefront. Besides, anyone in the American system knows that this is a potential hazard of adult life. It’s like getting drafted into the military, but worse because there is no communication from the courts. At least the military communicates slightly better. (Note: ever so slightly.)

After working out a plan B with clients really helped lift a bit of the anxiety. It also means if the worse came to pass Insanitek would not fail. Yes, it would likely be difficult, especially if the hours at court go well past “business hours” making it nearly impossible to do client work and maintain sanity.

<Enter some trite motivation>

There are hundreds of thousands of trite motivational books, quotes, and videos on the internet. None of them have ever worked for me. To me they are just annoying cheerleaders with no real added value. I need real answers and solutions. And I need a system that works no matter what. If you fall into this category, maybe my methods of madness will help you too.

Keep your why in mind. There is nothing more motivating than remembering why you started the current adventure you’re on. For me, that’s because I want to help people understand and even do science.

Figure out a few alternate plans to get through rough spots. Having some backup plans, and backup plans for those really helps me feel empowered. There is nothing like knowing that you can see yourself through any kind of obstacle. It may not be perfect, but it’s a little mental boost that gives you a little courage to tackle the obstacle.

Take one day at a time. Each day of rough spots is going to call for something different. Maybe one day you have more energy and can do more, then another you need to give yourself a few more moments to meditate and breathe deep before you punch someone in the face. (I never claimed to be a pacifist. ;)) Give yourself some wiggle room to do what needs to be done.

Discipline comes in handy. When all else fails, rely on discipline to get things done. For me that means going for walks in the morning and checking things off my to-do list. In times when I fall back on discipline, I’ll get up, get dressed, and head out for a walk no matter what. And I’ll go through the motions to keep things moving forward until I can find equilibrium.

I wish I would have realised this works for me more than a poster aeons ago. It might have saved me a lot of time in college. But, it took getting knocked around a bit in the military to get this wisdom. Still, it’ll serve me well during this obstacle and the next year around the sun.