It’s been a busy summer. I’ve been away from home for most of the last 5 months, which is great (yay work), but it’s really good to be home… well… mostly.
The thing about home is that it doesn’t take long for all kinds of stuff to start piling up.
It’s simpler on the road. You do your job. You call your family (including the friends that make the ‘family’ cut). It’s a more focused kind of existence.
But when I’m home it’s a cornucopia of things. And they’re good things: friends, family, work. But all of a sudden I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and I don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere.
I’ve been here before… it is (shockingly) not my first time feeling overwhelmed… and usually I play a game called: Get the Crazy Out. Or in not-crazy-person terms, I make a list.
A list. Always helpful right?
Well… kind of. Sometimes it’s helpful to see it all laid out in front of you. Then you can make a plan to tackle it. Plans are good. They generally lead to some kind of action. But sometimes when you lay it all out it just makes it more impossibly insane.
That was this week.
My list is stupid, and the more I kept working on it the more insane it got. I might as well have added cure cancer, and find Amelia Erhart to the list because there’s just as much chance of that happening as most of the stuff on this stupid list.
Seriously. It just takes one glance to know where this list is going to end up… me giving up and watching Netflix.
The conclusion… I’m probably trying to do too much.
Plan for Victory
I’m boiling down the list.
I know. It’s not the amazing, mind blowing revelation that you’ve gotten used to seeing on R2R (please… let me have that one)… but it’s all I can do.
But it was/is way harder than I thought it would be.
Instead of a laundry list of mundane chores, and a ton of big crazy projects… I have three things.
And those things stress me out as much as the full list did because all I can see is all the stuff I’m leaving off. It makes me feel like I’m taking steps backward, like I’m lazy, like if only I were a better person I would be able to work 14 super structured hours a day.
But time has proven that I can’t.
So I’m gonna give this a try, and focus on doing just a few things a little better…
What do you guys think? Maximize time by fitting in as much as possible? Or minimize activities to maximize the amount of attention you can give each thing…?
I also like the idea of making a list.
I’d say a better approach is to build a small list first and see how it goes – if it’s too easy to accomplish and you don’t feel challenged at all, make a bigger list next time. Try a few times and you will find the optimum point where you can feel you’ve accomplished something while still not overwhelmed.
Hey Bud,
List of three is good – also finding time to accomplish them earlier in the day, so that the day is “won” is gratifying! Gives you the rest of the day to do whatever without feeling that overwhelming feeling… Also, gives you a chance to complete more tasks, if you really want to! This is especially useful for the tasks that we just don’t want to do. Accomplish them early, and you won’t be stuck in paralysis mode always thinking about them but never acting on the thoughts!
Cheerio Chris,
Paul
I was just talking to someone about having too big of a list. I am in the stressful time of full time school, part time job, and doing shows. I feel guilty any time I do sit down and watch Netflix, or read (something other than a score). I have to remind myself hat if I continually burn the candle from both ends that I will indeed be a gloopy mess of nothingness unable to do any of the jobs I have.
My rant is complete. Thanks for the idea of a smaller list.
A gloopy mess of nothingingness indeed…
I totally get it. Work life balance is super hard. So far I’m digging the smaller list (when I’m not feeling like a failure for having to cut it down).
Hope you’re reading something awesome and in no means educational!