Useful ideas for the scanner personality
It seems to be a pretty important point for scanner personalities to get an explanation of their nature (✏︎ the aha moment of the scanner). Now that they understand themselves better, they can react better.
So what to do when you know you are a scanner?
MINDSET and AWARENESS are the first key:
This AHA effect, this finding alone seems to be a big step forward. The inner struggle with the feeling “something is wrong” may diminish or dissolve. Maybe your thought patterns change automatically - otherwise you can consciously work on them and change your wrong beliefs.
Your new beliefs will release your pressure - Of course it´s ok to „just“ do a GOOD job and not to thrive for the board membership. A job can simply be a job with that you pay your rent and your private projects. Then you can be your own patron! It's absolutely okay to do things just for fun and without making any money. And it’s not only OK to pursue several interests - according to Barbara Sher – but you SHOULD actually do it! „What you love is a clue from your DNA.“ she said. And “all these clues will lead you to your own hidden treasure.” You never know where all this will lead you. Maybe it all makes sense yet you won`t find out until later. Just think about the calligraphy class that Steve Jobs took …
And furthermore (as many are afraid of committing themselves to one thing) - remind yourself that decisions about a hobby or a job don't have to be a life decision ;)
STRUCTURE is the second key:
Scanners are often afraid of not realizing their own potential, of wasting valuable time, of FOMO and they are often afraid of criticism. What can help is giving yourself some kind of structure - because structure is beneficial to maintaining freedom.
Build in buffers and „islands of time“ - to give your desired and necessary tasks space so that they do not catch up with you later. A quote I like: „I don't need time. I need a deadline“ (Duke Ellington).
Keep in mind that people often underestimate how long they will need for a task. (=“overconfident bias”). I think, especially as a scanner you should plan bigger buffers to remain more flexible overall.
The Scanner Project book (Journaling / Writing): The amount of ideas often paralyzes the scanner - so it can help to write things down and to collect all the ideas in a special project book.
Writing mostly helps to make things clearer. By putting thoughts into a sentence, you are „forced“ to become more concrete, and that creates clarity. And it is not just about the clarity of the written formulations … Writing things down in itself clears the mind - because it makes your brain "think" things are done. Which means that they no longer buzz around in your head. This effect is called the Zeigarnik effect.
Try out different working models to find the best way for you, e.g. find a part-time job. Here a statement from another scanner I found: "I couldn't imagine being employed full-time because that would make me unhappy. The reason is not in the job itself, but in the fact that I would have to more or less give up all other projects and interests because I would simply have a lot less time for it.“
Making decisions: Try tossing a coin („heads or tails“). This is not about delegating your voting decision, but about tricking your subconscious. Just pay attention to your gut instinct when the coin result shows up. Do you like it at the first moment? - then accept this decision. If you don ́t like it, then take the other one. Or maybe you realize that you don ́t care, that both outcomes will be the same to you.
Hire an assistant or external support: What about delegating some tasks to save time? Even if it feels strange at first thought, just think about it: Maybe you can transfer some tasks like proofreading, editing, cleaning, ironing, gardening. You could post a notice in the neighborhood, you can search the classifieds for a student assistant or you can hire the delivery service for the weekly shopping. (For more ideas, check out the great book "The 4-hour workweek" by Timothy Ferriss.)
Measures when you feel STUCK:
Marie Forleo writes about how many people waste their time pondering about what to do instead of trying things out and then observing how it feels. She points out her own biggest mistake: Searching her head for an answer that could only be experienced. So, when you are stuck in a thought loop of indecision: Start doing. Take a step, any step. Then you will receive feedback for your new step. Experience, engage, try out. „Make a move, no matter how tiny“. Marie puts all her learning into this sentence: „Clarity comes from engagement, not thought.“
Barbara Sher points out to another trap that she calls Time sickness. „Time sickness is a form of hysteria that makes you believe you must fill in every waking hour“ and that everything must be done at once. But you don't have to do it at all once. You can do tasks one at a time. You can schedule them (but not too rigid). You have more time than you think. And there isn´t only either/or, there are often possibilities to combine things. For example, you could get up an hour earlier to write poetry before going to work.
Barbara described a situation when a woman was complaining: „I can't even draw anymore. I wish I had more time for it.“ - „Why?” Barbara asked. “How long does it take to draw?“ - The woman was stunned as if she had never thought about it before. Of course, you can almost always find any 20 minutes to draw a little ...
✏︎ What´s holding us back?
Balance matters! The other extreme of being stuck is also possible for scanners, because the can run high-powered. The scanner can fluctuate between these two extremes: On the one hand, he can be paralyzed because he doesn't know where to start and therefore postpones everything. He just can't make a decision.
On the other hand, it could be possible that he messes around with a lot of projects, can no longer sit still and cannot slow down anymore.
Some scanners described it as they´d like to cut something off the night - which of course is not a long-time strategy. So, what matters is on the one hand, to a) be aware of this - and b) therefore really install the buffers and use mindfulness exercises, or create new mindfulness routines and habits. ✏︎ How to change your habits
(Side note: As I write this, it is 2:27am in the middle of the night … still something to learn for me ;).
Conclusion
Barbara Sher (the mother of the “scanner expression”) compares scanners with honeybees flying from flower to flower. Of course, this is not because bees are inconsistent. It's part of nature, as bees make a particularly large contribution to our ecosystem. Einstein put it this way: „No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more men.“
So, what could be the bee-purpose of scanners? I believe it´s their generalism. The bee’s job is to distribute pollen to make the world more colorful. Scanners make the world more colorful by spreading ideas. Many scanners take on the position of an inspiring role model here. They dare to do things although (or precisely because) they are not an expert or need some kind of “license”. They spread inspiration by just doing things, by learning things, by showing others what is possible for everyone. They just play. ... cause life is a game ♡