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Primer: When You Have Too Much to Do 2020-04-01T02:01:58+05:30 You have a to-do list that scrolls on for days. You are managing multiple projects, getting lots of email and messages on different messaging systems, managing finances and personal health habits and so much more.
Primer
todo

You have a to-do list that scrolls on for days. You are managing multiple projects, getting lots of email and messages on different messaging systems, managing finances and personal health habits and so much more.

It all keeps piling up, and it can feel overwhelming.

How do you keep up with it all? How do you find focus and peace and get stuff accomplished when you have too much on your plate?

In this primer, Ill look at some key strategies and tactics for taking on an overloaded life with an open heart, lots of energy, and a smile on your face.

The First Step: Triage

Whether youre just starting your day, or youre in the middle of the chaos and just need to find some sanity … the first step is to get into triage mode.

Triage, as you probably know, is sorting through the chaos to prioritize: what needs to be done now, what needs to be done today, what needs to be done this week, and what can wait? Youre looking at urgency, but also whats meaningful and important.

Heres what you might do:

  • Pick out the things that need to be done today. Start a Short List for things youre going to do today. That might be important tasks for big projects, urgent tasks that could result in damage if you dont act, smaller admin tasks that you really should take care of today, and responding to important messages. I would recommend being ruthless and cutting out as much as you can, having just 5 things on your plate if thats at all possible. Not everything needs to be done today, and not every email needs to be responded to.
  • Push some things to tomorrow and the rest of the week. If you have deadlines that can be pushed back (or renegotiated), do that. Spread the work out over the week, even into next week. What needs to be done tomorrow? What can wait a day or two longer?
  • Eliminate what you can. That might mean just not replying to some messages that arent that important and dont really require a reply. It might mean telling some people that you cant take on this project after all, or that you need to get out of the commitment that you said youd do. Yes, this is uncomfortable. For now, just put them on a list called, “To Not Do,” and plan to figure out how to get out of them later.

OK, you have some breathing room and a manageable list now! Lets shrink that down even further and just pick one thing.

Next: Focus on One Thing

With a lot on your plate, its hard to pick one thing to focus on. But thats exactly what Im going to ask you to do.

Pick one thing, and give it your focus. Yes, there are a lot of other things you can focus on. Yes, theyre stressing you out and making it hard to focus. But think about it this way: if you allow it all to be in your head all the time, that will always be your mode of being. Youll always be thinking about everything, stressing out about it all, with a frazzled mind … unless you start shifting.

The shift:

  • Pick something to focus on. Look at the triaged list from the first section … if you have 5-6 things on this Short List, you can assess whether theres any super urgent, time-sensitive things you need to take care of. If there are, pick one of them. If not, pick the most important one — probably the one you have been putting off doing.
  • Clear everything else away. Just for a little bit. Close all browser tabs, turn off notifications, close open applications, put your phone away.
  • Put that one task before you, and allow yourself to be with it completely. Pour yourself into it. Think of it as a practice, of letting go (of everything else), of focus, of radical simplicity.

When youre done (or after 15-20 minutes have gone by at least), you can switch to something else. But dont allow yourself to switch until then.

By closing off all exits, by choosing one thing, by giving yourself completely to that thing … youre now in a different mode that isnt so stressful or spread thin. Youve started a shift that will lead to focus and sanity.

Third: Schedule Time to Simplify

Remember the To Not Do list above? Schedule some time this week to start reducing your projects, saying no to people, getting out of commitments, crossing stuff off your task list … so that you can have some sanity back.

There are lots of little things that youve said “yes” to that you probably shouldnt have. Thats why youre overloaded. Protect your more important work, and your time off, and your peace of mind, by saying “no” to things that arent as important.

Schedule the time to simplify — you dont have to do it today, but sometime soon — and you can then not have to worry about the things on your To Not Do list until then.

Fourth: Practice Mindful Focus

Go through the rest of the day with an attitude of “mindful focus.” That means that you are doing one thing at a time, being as present as you can, switching as little as you can.

Think of it as a settling of the mind. A new mode of being. A mindfulness practice (which means you wont be perfect at it).

As you practice mindful focus, youll learn to practice doing things with an open heart, with curiosity and gratitude, and even joy. Try these one at a time as you get to do each task on your Short List.

Youll find that youre not so overloaded, but that each task is just perfect for that moment. And thats a completely new relationship with the work that you do, and a new relationship with life.