In my current season of life, I am very interested in how I can achieve more with less, focusing on what really matters.
Like many other mid-lifers, my energy levels are not as predictable and irrelevant as they were in my 30-ies. Back then, I would just commit to as much as possible and then address overcommitment by pushing myself until the job was done. I am much better at managing my capacity these days because I know the path to burnout is shorter.
I also don’t have the patience to work on things I’m not interested in or where I don’t see clear alignment with my long-term goals. My attention is more of a scarce resource these days, so I want to invest it in things I like, am good at and where I can add the most value.
Experience helps. I know what I like, what works and can afford to be picky with the projects I take on.
Still…it’s an ongoing battle. While I am better at managing external expectations, my internal expectations remain my nemesis.
My ideas are never-ending but my time, energy and attention are limited. And as an optimist, I find it difficult to let go of my hopes and dreams.
But with all of these ideas in my head, prioritising and then making significant progress on them can be a challenge. So, I’ve come up with a few coping strategies to reduce the risk of overwhelm.
1. Creating ‘now’ and ‘later’ lists, to better prioritise and stay focused
The ‘now’ list is not a to-do list, but rather a list of strategic projects and habits I want to focus on over the short term. Things like client work or monthly payroll are not on the ‘now’ list, because they are business essentials I don’t need to be reminded of.
The ‘later’ list includes things I hope to tackle once the focus items are complete or have become a habit. It reminds me that I haven’t given up on those cool creative projects I want to do – I will just get to them later. Huge sigh of relief! (If you’re a fellow creative and/or entrepreneurial person, you know what I am talking about.)
Both lists are on sticky notes and are stuck to my monitor, so that I have daily reminders of what I need to focus on and, even more importantly, what I can delay concern about.
Everything else is just an ‘idea’ I haven’t yet committed to, parked somewhere on my computer until it’s time to review my priorities.
2. Creating a ‘lucky dip’ system to avoid decision fatigue and continue to progress strategic projects
As I mentioned, I don’t need reminding to progress operational, established things like client work. But when it comes to strategic projects, like writing articles or books, it’s not as simple.
One reason is that these creative pursuits are largely self-imposed and not directly linked to external commitments. No one is really waiting around for me to complete them.
Another reason is self-doubt. I start off well and then I wonder whether my writing is useful enough or whether the world really needs another set of tips on the topic.
And, finally, strategic work is hard. We know that it’s helpful and will likely make our lives easier, but often it’s a lot of abstract thinking without a huge amount of urgency or structure.
So, in theory, I know why the procrastination is happening, but this doesn’t make it easier to solve.
Lately, I am trying something that helped me build habits in other areas, by taking small, imperfect steps consistently. It’s the ‘lucky dip’ method.
I broke up my writing projects into tiny chunks, things that I can progress in 15-minute increments. I wrote out each task on a little piece of paper and threw it into a zip-lock bag.
When I am ready to work on my projects, there is no stress around which project to work on or which tasks to start with. I just reach into the bag and pull out the task…and that’s the one I have to progress for at least 15 minutes.
And, yes, it does feel weird to take a random rather than a linear approach, but it’s also better to make progress rather than to be stuck in ‘analysis paralysis’. Plus, I love the excitement of seeing which task I will pull out of the bag!
3. Hitting the mental ‘pause’ button to give myself a break and avoid burnout
If overwhelm does creep up, to the point that pushing through is not productive, then I try to turn my focus to more routine things. I work on admin tasks and house chores, or I do something relaxing.
There is no need to make myself feel worse. And once I’m up to it, I go back to my creative work.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of changing scenery, like getting away from my desk and writing from a coffee shop or the library.
The point is to keep going, not to have a perfect process.
I hope this is helpful.