Panic Protocol

Overview

Regain control in urgent situations where everything feels like it’s going wrong

Panic narrows your vision. This skill exists to widen it back.

Steps

Step 1: STOP

Before anything else:

1. Stop what you’re doing
2. Take three slow breaths — in for 4 counts, out for 6 counts
3. You have more time than you think
4. Panic compresses your sense of time — everything feels like it must happen NOW
5. Almost nothing must happen in the next 60 seconds

Step 2: Check for actual danger

Is anyone in physical danger right now?

• If YES: Call emergency services immediately. Everything else waits.
• If NO: Continue to Step 3.

This is the only true emergency. Everything else is urgent but not dangerous.

Step 3: Name the actual emergency

State the problem in ONE sentence:

1. Not a paragraph — one sentence
2. Be specific: “The client presentation is in 2 hours and the slides are broken” not “everything is falling apart”
3. If you can’t state it in one sentence, you’re panicking about multiple things — list them all, then pick the most urgent one
4. Write it down — seeing it externally reduces its emotional weight

Step 4: Test the “do nothing” scenario

Ask: What’s the worst that happens in the next 1 hour if I do absolutely nothing?

1. Be honest — not catastrophizing, not minimizing
2. If the answer is NOT catastrophic: you have time. Breathe again.
3. If the answer IS catastrophic: you have a genuine emergency — proceed to Step 5 with urgency but not panic
4. Most situations that feel catastrophic are actually just uncomfortable or embarrassing

Step 5: Triage into three buckets

Sort everything that needs handling:

NOW (must happen today):

• What will cause irreversible damage if not handled today?
• What has a hard deadline in the next 24 hours?
• List only actions, not worries

TOMORROW (can wait 24 hours):

• Important but not deadline-critical today
• Things that need a clear head (which you don’t have right now)
• Responses that can wait without real consequence

NEXT WEEK (can wait longer):

• Everything else
• Things that feel urgent but aren’t
• Cleanup and follow-up tasks

Step 6: Handle the NOW list only

Work through your NOW list:

1. Pick the single most important item
2. Do that one thing — ignore everything else
3. When it’s done, pick the next most important item
4. Do NOT look at the TOMORROW or NEXT WEEK lists
5. Do NOT multitask — sequential focus only
6. If you start to spiral, return to Step 1

Step 7: Hand off the rest

After the NOW list is handled:

1. The crisis is over — even if it doesn’t feel like it
2. For the TOMORROW and NEXT WEEK items: → INVOKE: /to to organize them into a task list
3. Get some rest, food, or a break before tackling more
4. Debrief: what caused the panic? Is there a systemic issue to address later?

When to Use

• Everything feels like it’s falling apart at once
• You’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start
• A sudden crisis has disrupted your plans
• Multiple urgent things are competing for your attention simultaneously
• You feel the physical symptoms of panic (racing heart, shallow breathing, tunnel vision)
• You’re about to make a rash decision out of fear
• Someone else is panicking and you need to help them think clearly

Verification

• Full stop was taken before acting
• Physical danger was checked first
• The actual emergency was stated in one sentence
• “Do nothing” scenario was tested
• Tasks were triaged into NOW / TOMORROW / NEXT WEEK
• Only NOW items were worked on
• Remaining items were captured for later handling
• No rash decisions were made during panic