photo by Rob, rjs1322
My week was tough. The projects seemed doable, but then Monday hit me like a ton a bricks. Seven different projects, each one seemed simple enough, but when you start to see stress-enduced forehead acne all over your face, you know you are in trouble. I know a lot of people who try to “do it all.” But let me tell you this– I am the queen of trying to “do it all” and failing…every..time.
I didn’t see a lot of options. I was blinded by the desire to do EVERYTHING, say yes to EVERYONE, and prove to myself that I CAN DO IT ALL.
I tried breaking down my days like I break down my workouts: one interval at a time. I counted down my tasks by half hour increments. Schedule a bunch of customer calls. Schedule another bunch of customer calls. Launch a survey, and self recorded studies. I cranked through each task like clocking the miles in a workout — one at a time. After one day, I felt very busy, very productive. I tried it again the next day — I was slammed, but things were moving along.
Then the end of the week came, and I was totally exhausted. I was driving the projects forward, but not really getting anywhere. I was doing too much, and not really being of value. I wasn’t improving, I wasn’t seeing the research make any difference whatsoever.
I realized research tasks really aren’t like clocking the miles. It’s not about the quantity of tasks you complete — it’s truly about the quality. How much did your work make a difference? How much value are you giving your company?
Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to do EVERYTHING, that we end up doing nothing.