Why We Always End Up
Overwhelmed By Our To-Do Lists
You look down at
your to-do list and your heart starts
racing. Why? You’ve just had that brutal realization that there is absolutely
no way you’re going to be able to get everything done.
Even if you shut your office
door, skip happy hour, pull an all-nighter, and crank up your most
inspirational productivity playlist, there will still be unfinished tasks
lingering on that pesky list of yours.
Put simply, you’ve
over-promised—meaning you’ve found yourself over-extended and totally
overwhelmed.
Now what? What can you
realistically do, other than put your head down on your desk and silently
resent your ridiculous workload?
While there’s no magic formula
that will instantly make half of your to-do list vanish into thin air (you
wish, right?), there are some things you can do to navigate your way through
that sticky situation and come out with your sanity intact.
Why Do We Do This To Ourselves?
Before you can jump into fixing
the problem, it’s important that you understand it first.
I know, I know—you’re stretched
thin and don’t have time for a detailed psychology lesson about what drives
your compulsive need to say “yes” to everything. But, spend just one minute on
the science anyway.
The Trap of the Planning Fallacy
First and foremost, we find
ourselves with unrealistic workloads due to something called the planning
fallacy (also sometimes referred to as the optimism bias).
Put simply, we’re pretty bad at
understanding how long things take us. We all fancy ourselves productivity superheroes and thus
grossly underestimate just how long a project will take us to complete.
We grossly underestimate just how long a project will take us to
complete.
Plenty of studies exist to back this
fact up. Researchers wanted to see the planning fallacy in action—so,
they conducted an experiment by asking
students for an estimate of when they’d complete an academic project. Basically,
the students were asked to assign a confidence interval of 50%, 75%, and 99% to
a time when they thought they’d have the task finished.
At the point in time when
students said they were 99% certain they’d have the project completed? In
reality, only 45% of them had it done.
In a separate study involving students, the
researchers found that, on average, students were 30 days too optimistic when
offering their estimates for completion.
That’s pretty far off. And, if
you continue to estimate your time incorrectly over and over again? Well, you
already know what happens: You’re left with way too much to do and far too
little time to do it.
The Psychology of Saying 'Yes'
Our crappy time management skills
aside, there’s another reason we all pile our plates too full: It feels good to
say “yes” to people.
“Much of saying ‘yes’ is saying
‘yes’ to another person,” explains Dr. Robert Bilder, professor of psychiatry
and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA, “By acknowledging that you are going along
with a plan initiated by someone else, you are strengthening or creating a bond
with them.”
Joining a group initiates neural
circuits (the same ones as when we fall in love, actually!) that cause oxytocin
levels to surge. Those increased levels make you feel great, so you’ll be all
the more likely to repeat that behavior over and over again. After all, it’s a
whole lot better than your brain’s reaction to negative stimuli—like hearing
the word “no.”
Where Do You Go From Here?
Now that you know that your overwhelming
workload is a result of your brain playing tricks on you, what happens next?
You can’t rewind time and say “no” instead of “yes.” So, how can you
realistically cope with that pile of tasks that you know you won’t get done?
1. Separate the Wheat From the Chaff
First things first, you need to
zone in on the things that are actually urgent. What on your to-do list really needs to be done
today, and what’s just hanging out there with a not-so-firm deadline?
Grab a highlighter and prepare to
do some major destruction to that list of yours. Highlight only (yes, only) the
things that you absolutely need to have finished by the end of the day. That
will allow you to turn your attention to those do-or-die items that should be
at the very top of your priorities list.
Our brains have the not-so-helpful tendency to conflate real,
productive work with those other small, menial, and mindless tasks.
Yes, it’d be nice to finally get
around to cleaning your inbox or giving Susan in marketing a prompt reply to
that birthday invitation she just sent. But, right now, you’re in crisis
management mode. Anything that can wait until tomorrow absolutely should
(sorry, Susan).
Not only does this elimination
step give you a clearer focus on where you should be
channeling your energy and attention, but it also removes the risk of
self-sabotaging your own productivity.
Our brains have the
not-so-helpful tendency to conflate real, productive work with those other
small, menial, and mindless tasks.
By totally pushing those out of
your mind (and off your to-do list) for now, you won’t be tempted to color code
your inbox when you should actually be completing that presentation that’s due
in two hours.
2. Delegate What You Can
You’re now left with a simplified
and streamlined to-do list. It helps, but you’re quickly realizing that there
are still far too many time-pressing tasks taunting you—this still isn’t
doable.
At this point, take a look at
what you could potentially delegate to other people. Do you have a direct
report that could take one of those assignments off of your plate? If you’re
not in a management role, perhaps you could throw yourself on the mercy of one
of your colleagues (with a promise that you’ll return the favor if and when
they need it).
When delegating, just make sure
to pass along any important background information, notes, or requirements to
ensure the job is done the way it was intended.
If you work independently or you
don’t have anybody in your office who’s willing to take pity on you, don’t
count yourself out of this delegation step quite yet. Have you ever considered
using automation as a form of delegating?
Automation typically works best
for those pesky recurring tasks that take up a lot of your time (think of
things like automatically storing files and email attachments in Google Drive
or scheduling social media posts, for example).
While you will need to invest a
bit of time to get it set up, automation can save you a decent chunk of
much-needed time in the long run. Seventy-five percent of marketers, for
example, state that saving time is the biggest benefit of automation.
3. Push Back Deadlines
Are you cringing? I know—this is
the very thing you wanted to avoid. But, when you’ve whittled down your to-do
list and exhausted all of your other options, it’s time to face the music that
you’re going to have to extend some end dates and let a few people down.
The key to pushing back a
deadline is to do it sooner rather than later. It’s a lot more professional to
request an extension before that task is due, rather than hours (or even days)
after it was originally supposed to be submitted.
The key to pushing back a deadline is to do it sooner rather
than later.
Rest assured, there’s a way to do
this in a way that’s polite and professional. It’ll just involve swallowing
your pride and admitting to the fact that you bit off far more than you can
chew.
Here’s a sample message, so you
can see what this ends up looking like:
Hey Jamie,
I wanted to touch base and let
you know that I’m pretty swamped right now. I’m doing my best to catch up. But,
unfortunately, I won’t be able to have that client rundown completed for you by
the end of the week as originally discussed.
I’m hoping that we can push that
deadline back a bit, as I’d always rather turn in high-quality work a little
behind schedule than shoddy work on time. Would next week Wednesday work to
have it submitted to you?
Let me know if that adjusted
timeline works on your end.
Thanks,
Alex
There are two important things to
remember when crafting a similar email of your own. First and foremost, resist
the urge to profusely apologize. You might be embarrassed by admitting defeat.
But, continuously beating yourself over the head will only make you more
guilt-ridden, and ultimately won’t do you any favors. Be direct and concise—and
skip the Oscar-worthy apology speeches.
Secondly—and, this is incredibly
important—ensure that you suggest an adjusted deadline that you can actually
meet (be conservative if you have to!). Pushing a deadline back once is one
thing. Needing to do it over and over again will make it appear as if you don’t
know how to manage your own workload.
Moving Forward: Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice
The natural tendency to pile your
plate full can be difficult to combat. Once you make it through that
overwhelming period, take some steps to ensure that your workload remains at a
more doable level (at least most of the time) moving forward.
For starters, it’s a wise idea to
begin tracking your time in order to get a more realistic handle on how long
specific projects and tasks take you. That’ll override your optimism bias and
keep your expectations for your own productivity in check.
If you find that you’re often
stuffing your calendar full with various social functions and events, consider
using this calendar hack that involves creating an
“optional” category within your calendar. Things that aren’t mandatory—whether
it’s a networking mixer or an educational seminar you wanted to attend—should
be assigned that category.
Life gets busy, and we all fall victim to the siren song of
over-promising every now and then.
So on those days when you’re
feeling particularly spread thin, with just the click of a button you can sort
through everything on your schedule and be left with only the things you
absolutely have to do. It’s an effective way to instantly streamline your
to-dos when you’re already barely maintaining your grip on your sanity.
Life gets busy, and we all fall
victim to the siren song of over-promising every now and then. Follow these
steps and you’ll be able to make your way to the other side of that lengthy
to-do list—with as few tears and tantrums as possible.
This article originally appeared
on Trello.
KAT
BOOGAARD
https://advice.shinetext.com/articles/why-we-always-end-up-overwhelmed-by-our-to-do-lists/?utm_source=Shine&utm_medium=Blog
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