I’m overloaded! Yes, it happens to me, too
The problem happens when I take on a new project, here’s a delay in the project (e.g. I’m waiting for someone to get me a document), and during that delay, I start something new. Once the delay is over, I now have two projects on my plate that together take up more time than I have.
So I’m in the midst of re-examining how I use my time and space. When you are examining your own life, how do you decide what to drop and what to keep? If everything on your plate is related to one of your goals, how do you choose which stays and which goes?
Do you have some priorities that are constant (”Family always comes first”)? Do your priorities change? Why and how?
I’ve noticed that each year, I choose new constant priorities. For example, this year health is a huge theme. My workouts and health commitments have consciously dominated everything. But other priorities change according to my projects.
Insights appreciated!
12 responses so far ↓
1 Elise // Aug 5, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Ah. I’ve got this problem, too. Alter egos come in handy at times like this if you know how to handle them, but then, I’m weird.
Family pretty much always comes first, but when things get really crazy, sometimes they are the only ones who understand and can deal with something else urgent that comes up.
2 John Corey // Aug 5, 2008 at 1:06 pm
If you can not pick, what will be chosen by the indecision? Does it matter? Listen to that voice that says what is the bigger loss if you do not choose. Similar to how one feels when you flip a coin and it comes up opposite to what you secretly wanted. Only obvious after you flip.
Can some of the work be formally rescheduled with the stakeholders? Can a project be turned over to someone else? Is it a good time to find a partner an share the credit?
It is better to have too much and learn to choose than to have extra time that you need to waste.
3 Chris Tackett // Aug 5, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Values.
I’m such a meathead when I’m stressed that I actually keep my list of prioritized values on the back of a business card in my wallet. I also keep a list as a “Post Item” in Outlook just in case I’m too fried to dig into my wallet.
I don’t have a 1,2,3 list of values, but more in tiers. If competing priorities crop up on different values in the same tier, then I try to pick the one that adds value to other tasks. If no such synergy exists, then I do what my youngest daughter would do…
I write the lot of them on pieces of paper and pick ‘em out of a ball cap, grinning at my impishness.
4 Dino // Aug 5, 2008 at 1:42 pm
When overburdened, I tend to work chronologically, if everything has (on paper) the same weight. That is, if I start project A, and then need to wait (while others send in their parts), then start project B in the interim, I’ll put project B on freeze when I can catch up with project A. Frankly, the deadline for project A is often to soon in the future to not have dealt with it now.
This is extremely rare, as urgent priorities often nudge their way to the head of the queue. If I’m cooking, and I have three pots on the stove, and 2 pans in the oven, my urgent priority will scream out to me in the form of smoke (something burning) or hot screaming pain (when something flies out of the pot because the water is boiling too hard).
I find that other tasks seem to follow this pattern. Rarely will my tasks sit quietly, and let me arrange or organise them into what I think would be nice. Rather, they often self-sort. If those nuts in the oven are on the verge of burning, I’d better see to them NOW, and let the vegetables simmer away a little bit longer.
5 Rusty G // Aug 5, 2008 at 2:46 pm
At work when I get overwhelmed I first drop all the projects that I have voluntarily added to my jobs, things that just make work run smoother. Next go the projects that I have voluntarily chosen to do which assist my co-workers with their jobs. With the projects that are left, I do my best, skip breaks, and work until the last minute, but ultimately what I can’t get to gets left for the next shift. I try to make it up to my co-workers by doing as much of their work that can be done on my shift.
I also try to follow up with my supervisor and manager to let them know so that hopefully they can prevent or reduce the problem in the future.
At home it’s money, food, and spouse that come first. Things like cleaning, repairs (unless they will cost more later), reading, hobbies all come after the first three.
6 Jennifer // Aug 5, 2008 at 4:28 pm
In terms of work, when overwhelmed I work from the simplest thing to the hardest thing. Getting all the little things out of the way leaves me free to concentrate on the big task.
Personally, when I am overwhelmed in my personal life I go with my sanity (health) first, then family, then everything else.
7 Pewari // Aug 5, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I use lots of mindmapping/spider diagrams.
The first to map out what is actually in my life at the moment, then subsequent ones shaped how I’d like my life to be. With enough navel gazing I soon find tasks that I don’t really enjoy, don’t hold that much priority but seem to spend ages over - they’re the first against the wall.
I also make lists based on how frequently I want to give things attention. So I won’t feel hard done by if I only get to do some of my hobby (photography) once a week or so (but longer than a fortnight and I get rusty), but I will go INSANE if I don’t write something every day (and neither will I achieve my goals). Housework is more sufferable for me a little each day rather than one massive blitz at the weekend. You get the idea.
Mostly though, I completely empathise. Over the last few months I’ve felt a bit like I was drowning, not waving and have cut things right back to the bare minimum (and am subsequently now bored, hey ho - no pleasing me). I never seem to find a happy medium - just bounce between states of boredom and overstretched.
Now going to read all the previous comments properly and find out what everyone else does
8 Pewari // Aug 5, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Have read the other comments and found myself nodding vigorously with the coin flipping (that one works so well in so many situations - disappointed with the result, well then choose the other option) and with Jennifer’s sanity priority.
When things are really insanely busy then taking the time out for a half hour “me” time on my bike in the fresh air clears my head and helps me prioritise so much better for the rest of the day.
9 Samantha // Aug 5, 2008 at 8:26 pm
When I find myself buried under too much stuff, I have to prioritize and decide which thing is least likely to make the world come to a crashing halt. THAT is the one I drop.
Often I find that I become a victim of “if I don’t do xxxxxxx, then the world will cease to spin on its axis, and life as we know it will end!!”. In reality, there are very few things on my list that are really that vital. Realizing this makes it easier to drop the things that just don’t matter all that much.
10 Drake Anubis // Aug 7, 2008 at 9:28 am
I can’t make the decision, so I don’t drop any project.
For example, I do a lot of technical work and while I was waiting for a video to encode (hour long process) I started hacking around with a Wireless FM transmitter to see if I could get better performance. The video process finished first and rather than make the decision I carefully (and quickly) packed the pieces of the FM transmitter into a box, along with a note about what I was doing and what needs to be done, and place it in storage with other projects that have been doomed to a similar fate.
If I ever have nothing to do, I’ll pull out one of these projects and finish it, however the majority of the time they linger for weeks/months and then get thrown away.
I know full well that I will never get to these projects, but it gets rid of the mental pain related to abandoning them.
11 Stacy // Aug 8, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Stever…Scott Ginsberg wrote a terrific post about this that you might enjoy, here:
http://hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/2008/08/when-does-commitment-become-detriment.html
12 Toilet Paper Entrepreneur // Aug 12, 2008 at 11:20 am
I am trying to do more and more of what feels right. Meaning if I am working hard and feel stress, I adjust so the stress goes away. If I have a nagging feeling that I need to see more of my family… I see more of my family. It seems my feelings (my gut) are never wrong.
- Mike Michalowicz
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