Feeling Overwhelmed

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with too many things on your to-do list? It can feel like you never have time to get to some actions on your list because other bigger activities jump ahead. As you know, if you don’t get to some of those lower priority activities, eventually they will become more urgent and higher priorities. It can feel like you are never getting ahead.

Incremental Progress or Starting

When this happens to me I make time in my calendar for “incremental progress” on a bunch of low priority actions. This time may be a block of time for me to simply “start” these lower priority actions.

I’m okay with not completing them because sometimes just starting them helps me feel like I am “catching up” (because I am). Simply making incremental progress or starting also creates momentum for me and keeps these priorities moving forward so they don’t become urgent high priorities later.

An Appointment?

When committing to blocking this dedicated time I have to ignore the temptation to let this time feel like a low priority. So, I treat this time like an appointment that can not (and I will not) budge. I think, what if I had an urgent doctor appointment? A doctor appointment that had potentially dire health consequences. If you had that kind of doctor appointment, you would work around it, wouldn’t you? You would simply make it happen. And, I do.

Tight Timeframe Really?

Transparently, this happens to me about once a week. And, when it does I’ll block a few hours in the middle of the week that commit to starting several lower priority activities that I have put off.

I keep it in a tight timeframe (an hour or two) to get started on 4 – 5 actions. The tight timeframe forces me to focus (because I don’t have time to become distracted) and I accomplish more.

What Can You Do?

You probably have low priority activities on your to-do list right now. Come on, I know you have at least a few things circling around in your head taking cycle time from your brain. Make a list of those low priority activities that you aren’t making time for. Simply schedule a block of time this week to get started on your list of low priority activities.

Share Your List

Share your list in the comments.

• What would it feel like to get started?
• What low priority actions aren’t getting your time that needs to simply get started?