Going from macro to micro

I am often overwhelmed. I’d like to think that the people around me never know this because I don’t show it, but like anyone else I experience moments (or days, or weeks) where I cannot fathom sucessfully managing the workload in front of me. However, there has never been a single instance where things didn't eventually calm down and fade into a forgotten memory. Our work culture prizes outward shows of strength, with anyone who expresses the slightest crack in their facade regarded as weak or ineffective. This false bravado ultimately prevents many of us from seeking help when we need it and avoiding taking the necessary actions to bring our stress under control.

Truthfully, everyone has moments like this. Anyone who doesn't is not being challenged. Some people let their stress eat away at them over days, weeks, months or years. They become disengaged and burned out, search for another job and end up with the same stresses they hoped to leave behind. Others shut down and pretend that they are unaffected, choosing to distract themselves with the trivial. Some, however, take a moment to pause, gather and summarize what lies in front of them, prioritize, then tackle their list from top to bottom with intense focus.

I think of this process as going from macro to micro. When you think about everything that must get done in aggregate, it is easy to become stressed and overwhelmed. It's abstract and lurks in the back of your mind and if you leave it there it will eat you alive. On the other hand, if you zoom in on specific projects and break them into manageable tasks, you will find that your stress is often overblown. Seeing your task list written down, organized into straightforward categories and prioritized accordingly makes it clear that while it may be a lot, it is actually manageable with the right mindset and tactics.

I like to enter my larger projects into a system like Asana, which can easily be organized and maintained. Every evening I write the important tasks for the following day in my bullet journal, which is informed by my Asana project list, emails I've received but haven't yet addressed and things migrated from the previous day.

The most difficult challenge is to focus only on those things that were important enough to write down and not become distracted by less important (but urgent) items that come up throughout the day. Ignore those! You’ll be surprised at how easily they take care of themselves. Many studies have shown that multitasking doesn’t actually work for the vast majority (97%+) of people. We think we are superhuman and that juggling multiple things at once make us feel like we are accomplishing so much more than the people around us. In reality, we are doing ourselves an injustice in terms of our overall output and our mental well-being. Without the ability to focus and work through important tasks one at a time, keeping an organized to-do list is worthless.

I have a tendency to gravitate toward easy box checkers when my task list piles up. I must work very hard not to let those simple, painless things pull my focus away from whats important. The days when I am able to shut out distractions and work on one thing at a time are the most rewarding and certainly the most productive.

Remember, you are not alone in feeling overwhelmed. The most important thing is to find an effective, repeatable way of turning abstract stresses into specific actions and then working through them with a pro-athlete-like focus. It will take time and it won't be easy. But you will be much better for it in the long run.