Route 66 Installment #31: Burning Up

The heat is on!

Yeah, summer (and global warming) are in full swing.

And perhaps you’re feeling the heat to end the second half of the year strong.

I returned from Colorado to 110+ degree temps in Arizona, several key work deadlines, and a few major professional events.

Learning to turn pressure into productivity is a fine art, as is learning to stay cool regardless of what life and work hurl at you.

When Heat Messes You Up

• Heat waves can not only make you just a little cranky, but they can have a proven impact on mental health.
• As you get older, your ability to adjust to extreme temperatures diminishes.
• People in cities are especially vulnerable to heat-related illnesses, and violence and suicide go up, along with temps.

Now For the Other Kind of Heat…

Metaphorical heat — the pressure to get something done on a deadline — may lead to stress but it can sometimes also improve creativity and productivity.

• The right kinds of deadlines can lead to better results.
• This matrix illustrates when time pressures lead to creativity and when the opposite occurs.
• Because the heat of summer can actually slow down our brain function, escaping to a new (hopefully cooler) place can be beneficial to creative thinking. Here are some ways you can incorporate some “summer fun” into otherwise boring routines.

So, whether you’re contemplating how to stop the sweat or juggling too many balls (and not the fun beachy kind) this summer, just try to chill from time to time, create a time block plan for getting stuff done, and indulge in some fun summer activities.

If you had to write an end-of-summer essay, what would you want it to say? Using that as your guide, beat the heat and make every day until Labor Day (currently 49 days away) a cool one!

More Hot Facts:

	How to recognize burnout.
	Armpit cold packs (and other ways to treat heat stroke)
	The hottest U.S. cities (temperature-wise)
	Ways to keep calm under pressure.