These days, 24 hours seem insufficient for most of us. It always feels like there are too many meetings to attend, deadlines to beat, and projects to develop even in the midst of a pandemic.
As a result, we constantly feel overwhelmed.
While productivity apps and project management tools help us prioritise, they don’t exactly lessen the amount of work we have to do. At best, they just tell us what we need to accomplish first.
So, is there really no way out of this?
Fortunately, according to experts and wise commentators, there is. However, it requires accepting a brutal fact first.
Here’s the Harsh Truth
You have no time to do everything.
Regardless of how great of a multitasker you are, you’ll never have enough time to do everything you want. Ever.
We’re in a content-mad age where information is everywhere.
For instance, access to online courses, webinars, and conferences abound. But you won’t get to attend all of them. If you’re a movie enthusiast, you can watch whatever film you want at any time. However, you won’t have time to watch all of them.
You see, that’s the thing about having unlimited access to multiple resources. You’re faced with endless choices, but there’s no way you can try them all. It’s the same with work.
Regardless of how many projects you want to implement, at the end of the day, you only have so much time – and energy to expend. This is why it’s important to focus on the most important and urgent ones. Take a long and hard look at everything on your list and trim it down according to your priorities and limited resources.
Deciding What Matters Most
According to a media critic, the problem is no longer about finding a needle in a haystack. Right now, we’re facing a haystack’s worth of needles, thanks to the nearly unlimited number of options and opportunities available compared to before.
For example, the internet opened up opportunities to expand through e-commerce platforms and online stores. So, now, businesses can choose whether to put up a digital store, brick and mortar establishment, or both.
With this too-many-needles-to-choose-from scenario, it can be overwhelming to decide which path is the right way to go. So really, the only practical solution is to confront the fact that choosing to do it all might not be viable.
So, you have to choose one path, and not several. If you truly want to create meaningful changes in your organisation, you have to decide what matters most. Revisit your company’s mission and vision and go for projects that are aligned with these goals.
As a bonus, when you remove irrelevant tasks from your list, you will likely begin to feel less overwhelmed.
Give Up on Trying to Get It All Done
There’s nothing better than seeing fewer boxes to tick off on your to-do list. While a shorter list may seem less ambitious compared to a longer list, the opposite holds true.
Having a manageable list is actually more empowering. So long as you prioritise the right tasks, getting them can bring you closer to your main goals and make you feel more accomplished. Most importantly, you won’t beat yourself up for failing to clear backlogs involving things that don’t really matter.
I mean, who needs to attend hundreds of webinars when all you need are five important ones?
Once we face and accept the harsh truth that there’s no time to do everything, it can be liberating. Aside from that, we also open ourselves to more specific and relevant opportunities that match our values and goals.
And with our limited time and resources, quality trumps quantity all the time.
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Serena has been working remotely and writing content for the better part of the last decade. To date, she's written for Pepper.ph and Mabuhay Magazine, among others, and has churned out more than a thousand articles on everything from The Basics of Stock Market Investing to How to Make Milk Tea-Flavored Taho at home. Hermits, aspiring hermits, and non-hermits with interesting project propositions may email her at serena.estrella10@gmail.com.
