When You’re Overwhelmed, This Blank Piece of Paper Will Center You

Anytime, anywhere, no sign in required.

Let’s do a little thought experiment here, ok? I’ll describe three simple steps for you to do, and you just make sure you do each one before you read (or do) the next.

I know that seems inefficient; I’m going to ask you to trust me that the inefficiency is an important part of the experiment, and that if we made things more efficient it would make the whole thing more…inefficient.

First, gather your instruments, of which there are two: you will need a blank sheet of paper from a notebook, a printer, sketchbook, sticky note, whatever. Just make sure you have nothing else written or drawn on it.*

Your other instrument is something to make marks on that paper with — again, pen, pencil, crayon, whatever.

Got them? Great. Take a breath, because here we go!

Step one: make your mark.

Literally. For now, let’s make this a dot. Or vertical line, if you prefer. I sometimes like to make a kind of simple spiral (because it looks like a G). It doesn’t really matter for this first experiment; If you want to do this again, you can try other marks.

But this is now, so let’s keep it simple: a change in that blank space, a mark like the beginning of an exclamation point at the end of a declarative truth: I am Here!

Because, well, you are. Here, I mean. This is just a reminder.

Done with step one? Great, take another breath, step two is coming fast.

Step two: make it now.

Now, make a circle around your mark.

This is the other part of the reminder: before you came “Here” you were somewhere else, and later you will almost certainly go away — but the “Here” that you are is Now, not before or later.

Sure, it might seem like you’ve been Here a while, and you might even plan to stay a bit longer, but I’m afraid not. That was the you that was before, and when you leave it will be the you that is later, but this you that made the mark Here is you, Now.

Well, ok, it was you-then, but we have to get a little fuzzy on the borders — sure, you can never step in a river in the same place twice, but you still get your socks wet.

Take it as a reminder that, for at least the duration of these marks on the paper, you are Here, and it is Now.

When you’ve finished the circle, you’re ready for step three. Deep breath!

Step three: This is the thing.

Blank pages are fine, but sometimes it helps to have a little help — lines, dots, grids, fields.

This is going to be a text box, basically. And I mean that literally, because the third step is to write the word “THIS” somewhere close to an edge of the paper — top, bottom, side, just do what feels right.

Then make a box of a certain size next to/under/above it.

You may be wondering what certain size. You’re the only one who can answer that; this is what is here with you now, and that may be as small as one word or stick figure drawing or as big as a multi-page essay (in which case you make the box as big as you can, with a little note at the bottom right corner that says “1 of ” with a blank after it so that when you finish writing two, three, five hundred and seventy two other pages about this, whatever it takes, you remember where you started.

You started here. Now. With this.

As you read this, you may also be wondering what This is. But honestly, I don’t think you are. I know that when I am feeling overwhelmed, I often distract myself with That and Those and Them, but when I get back to being Here, Now, deep down, I know what “This” is.

Doesn’t mean that I don’t still make This into “This Other Thing” because I don’t feel quite up to handling This right now. But if I’m honest, I know what This is.

Or, maybe I don’t. That’s ok too — if I’m really unsure, I can look at all the possible things This could be, and I decide, either with intention or at random: This is next.

What do you do with This Here Now?

That’s a good question, and there’s not really a right answer, or a wrong one, or a productive or lazy or smart or stupid answer either.

That’s not the point of this experiment, or, as I like to think of it, this ritual. We live in a wondrous world full of experiences and distractions and desires and connections, and because that’s a really exciting thing, we can reach the point where it feels like we are experiencing everything everywhere all the time.

This little space on this paper narrows that down. It’s not everyone; it’s you. It’s not everywhere; it’s here. And it’s not all the time; it’s now.

And for now, here, it’s not everything. It’s just This. Which might be a little easier to handle, in this box. You don’t have to show it to anyone, or do anything on it, or make it into any action items.

That’s not what this is for.

This is just a way for you to carve out a sanctuary, an oasis where your attention is yours to put where you like, rather than being distracted and extracted by the beeps and buzzes that fracture it into bits and pieces that can be gobbled up by the attention economy.

* As much as I love tablets like the iPad I’m using to write this, please use an analog sheet and marker — part of the point of this is to end up with a physical change to reality, a talisman to remind you of the experience.