Over, Under and Well Occupied
1944 Mississippi Meander Map by Harold Fisk (public domain)
Today’s post is a collaboration with OTD students, Marcie Israelson & Kim Frederickson joining OT, Kary Gillenwaters
To a Life Well Occupied
Where is the zone of well occupied for you?
Perhaps it would be helpful to agree on a few definitions before you answer.
Occupied: Busy, in use
Well Occupied: Varies by individual or group, and circumstances, the just right zone of meaningful occupation that promotes well being and honors current circumstances. (Today we’ll focus more on identifying the two ends of the continuum— under and over occupied)
Over occupied: level of busyness exceeds person’s threshold for what feels well at that point in time
Under occupied: under engaged or less involved in meaningful activities or ways to spend our time due to a variety of factors
Signs may include:
Signs of under and over occupied may include those listed above
Where is Well Occupied on the Continuum?
We are most likely to consider ourselves well occupied when the way we spend our time adjusts to our current circumstances. There is a certain give or flexibility in the things that occupy our time, which allows the conditions and season to guide us.
Nature as Teacher
Does life feel like a drought or a flash flood? This is the image that came to mind as OT friend and colleague, Traci, and I talked about how weather reminds us what under and over occupied are like in nature.
In times of extreme drought, the creek runs dry. This is unfortunately something many of us are seeing this year across many parts of the United States. Water levels are down significantly or non-existent in creeks and ponds. The weather itself changes how we occupy our time as individuals and collectives.
Under occupied
When we think of being under occupied as humans, we can think of this as feeling anywhere from lower energy levels to nothing left in the tank. Our energy and life force can dwindle in the absence of spending our time doing and being in ways that matter to us and have purpose.
If we attempt to continue our typical activity levels in drought conditions--we are likely to run on empty even sooner or for longer periods of time. The conditions call us to shift what, how, when, where, and why we do things.
Over occupied
Now let’s look at the opposite end of that continuum-- flash floods. The banks of the river can no longer contain the volume of what we are asking the river to hold. Much like humans, when we do not adjust the environment or our expectations, we overflow as well.
Just like a river-- we can be anywhere on the continuum from drought to overflowing, which when referring to where someone is at with their level of meaningful occupation, we may call-- under to over occupied.
So what do we do about that?
The map of the Meandering Mississippi may have a thing or two to teach us. The map above displays the path the lower Mississippi River (Illinois to New Orleans, LA) has taken over the course of more than 1,000 years. Thanks to cartographer and ecologist Harold Fisk-- we can see the many paths the Mississippi has taken to remain the mighty Mississippi River today.
Some questions this map may inspire us to consider today are:
When the conditions around us change-- how do we adapt? Do we try to maintain the same course, despite changes in the conditions? If so, how does that affect us and those around us?
At this point in time, would you say you spend most of your time over, under, or well occupied? How can we be well occupied when there is a drought or flash flood, literally or metaphorically?
Think of someone you know who seems to “go with the flow of life”-- what do you notice about them? What makes this possible for them? How might allowing your daily routine to meander benefit you or others?
What do I do if I find myself purposely avoiding some occupations (under occupied) and over doing some others? (over occupied)
Finding ways together… a sneak peek at next week’s Words to Know and Grow
Next Tuesday we will be talking about two possible solutions when we notice we are out of the well occupied zone and trending toward over or under occupied.
Have you heard of enfolding? How about unfolding? Hint-- we are not referring to laundry or cooking here.
Wait… perhaps I might be wrong about that, depending on what matters most to you, there might be a place for them as we consider when to combine 2 or more tasks or roles and when to separate them.
We’ll visit enfolding as a long lost cousin of multi-tasking. You’ll see it is easy to see why people might think multitasking and enfolding are the same on the surface, but they are actually quite different in function.
Even better, you’ll get to learn you are far wiser than you give yourself credit for and just might impress your friends with your growing vocabulary and helpful observations.
