I am very frustrated this week because I keep being contacted by overwhelmed people who are coming to me for “magic bullet” solutions for organizing their space, managing their email overwhelm, or figuring a better way to spend their workday.
Frankly, there are no magic bullets.
Sure there are ways to do things moderately or significantly better, and for a certain group of people, those ways will really, really help.
IT’S JUST TOO MUCH!
But there’s this whole group of other people are just trying TO DO TOO much. They are unfocused, scattered, stressed out and worn out. They have no discernment or boundaries around the information they are allowing to come at them.
Think of a dog in the yard…he’s out sniffing around, checking things out. Suddenly, SQUIRREL! And he’s off running in a whole different direction, and whatever he’d been sniffing before suddenly is completely forgotten.
This group of folks is just like that! They are trying to read everything, reply to every email, and learn everything there is to know about everything (especially in business). And frankly, without some rules, boundaries, and limitations around what they are allowing in, it’s ALL TOO MUCH. The information overload and number of options and choices is completely overwhelming them. They feel frantic and exhausted.
People simply can’t keep up this pace. I see it in the faces of my clients every day. I hear it from people I talk to every day. Everybody is overwhelmed. It’s just unmanageable. I don’t know what the answer is other than “Stop doing so much. Slow down. Think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. And rather than trying to squish it all in figure out what you can get rid of through delegation or just freaking stopping doing it.”
It is about priorities. But it’s also about your values. It’s about stopping long enough to see how you’re REALLY using your time versus how you actually WANT to be using your time.
I’m sure these aren’t new ideas or thoughts, but I’m annoyed and I’m frustrated. I’m frustrated for the people I work with for six hours getting their office or email inbox cleaned up, getting them set on a schedule, and making moderate changes that will take the pressure off and help them feel more “organized.”
But…
Unfortunately, I’m seeing these are “temporary fixes.” Because inevitably they fall out of the habits that I’ve tried to teach them. Until they stop using the tips and tricks I give them. Once they stop doing those things, once they let their guard down, the creep of paper and email and information starts coming back and everything falls apart again. They are in this cycle of, “Oh it’s better now. Oh, it sucks again. Oh, it’s better right now. Oh, it sucks again.”
STOP
And there is no solution to that until people STOP and pay attention to what they are doingand how they are spending their precious time. Until people stop thriving on the chaos. Until they stop thriving on the overwhelm. Until they stop thriving on the stress. Until they get out of the habit of reacting and learn to simply respond. Until they say enough is enough and “I’m not living like this anymore. I’m not working like this anymore. My company is not working like this anymore.”
It’s a little bit like Chik-fil-A taking a stand and saying, “And on Sunday, we rest.” And sure we loose however many millions each year, but who cares? Because our people need to rest.
It’s insanity and I’m seeing it get worse each year.
And that’s the long and short of it. That’s the big deal. And I’m sure I have more to say on this…about when people are REALLY ready to create change. About accountability. And about wanting to get out off the chaos wheel.