This morning Matt asks, “What do you do when there’s too much to do and not enough you?” Great question for all of us, which we’ll answer from Mobile, Alabama.
Life and work are full of un-fun requirements that simply must be handled. Then there are the activities that deliver value and provide joy and satisfaction. There’s only so much time, and we operate in bounded limits. Given this finitude, how can we be productive and find fulfillment?
Time and resources are limited, yet your potential isn’t. Take ownership. Accept your situation or transform it. Crush your job, or change it. When you shed “victim status” you become empowered. And constraints have a long history of inspiring innovation, positive change, and creative breakthroughs. So, here are five strategies for all of us to navigate this paradox.
1. Prioritize. If everything’s important and urgent then nothing is. Identify your most critical tasks and spend your best hours there. Learn to discern what’s truly urgent from what’s just noisy or someone else’s priority.
2. Simplify. Always be on the lookout for efficiency. Where can you streamline or eliminate time and effort? Shorter or fewer meetings is a good start.
3. Value value. What adds the most value to your work and your life? When you do more of what matters, the rest matters less.
4. Hit the breaks. No one can work non-stop. Find your optimal rhythm for focus, execution, and effective rest breaks.
5. Get help. If you don’t understand or feel equipped, ask for help, or clarification. Look to those who don’t seem as overwhelmed and ask them what you’re missing.
Matt, I know this issue feels personal, but it’s universal. We all experience overwhelm and see what’s obvious in retrospect. Look for the patterns you’re creating. Or perpetuating. If that’s not the life you want more of remember, little things change everything, and you are enough to shape your chaos for the better. Until next week, stay Off Balance On Purpose.