Being "All Caught Up" Is A Lie
See if this sounds familiar. You sit (or stand) to begin a new workday. Fresh from a good night's rest and fueled up with the appropriate food and/or beverage, you are ready to change the world! As you prepare to take on your first task, you remember an email you didn't respond to yesterday so you start with it. Then there's that information you need to send to a coworker. And you did want to check on the pricing for some new equipment. So you begin your day focusing on those things, never getting to work that could really move you forward with your goals.
Or maybe you've been trying to be more on purpose with your morning routine. Things at work are so busy right now, however, that you decide to wait until you aren't so overloaded. Then there's that team member you know needs your attention to help them grow, but it's been so crazy with a new project that there just hasn't been the time.
In all of these scenarios you are probably telling yourself the same lie..."When I get caught up, I'll work on those other things." But it never happens. In today's work rhythms there just aren't the "slow times" that may have existed in the past. There's just busy and crazy busy. I often tell people the day I get caught up is the day I am dead.
If you often find yourself believing the lie about "getting caught up" and allowing your workday to be filled with tasks that simply maintain the status quo, try one of these strategies to get yourself back on course:
Identify the emotion that's creating the hyper focus on getting caught up.
In his article, You’re Never Going To Be Caught Up, Art Markman explains that guilt and shame can lead to an over emphasis on certain tasks, and that we need to practice self-compassion to allow ourselves to be okay with not having everything done.
Challenge your assumptions.
Ask yourself questions like these to remind yourself of the fallacy of waiting until you get caught up:
When was the last time I was caught up and had free time in my schedule?
What have I missed the opportunity to already do because I kept waiting until I got caught up?
What's going to be different in the next 1-3 months that will allow me to be caught up?
How am I making it harder on myself (or my team) by not working on these things now?
Set a boundary.
Don't allow yourself to check email or social media before completing a more important task. Prepare any materials you need to work on a higher priority task so you can move quickly into it when you're ready. If you have to search for information or waste time looking for something, it gives your brain the chance to say, "This is hard!" Go do something easier."
Set a limit.
While I believe in tackling a difficult, goal-oriented task first thing in the day (Thank you, Eat That Frog), I also find value in completing a simple maintenance task as well. Finishing something gives you momentum to carry into the next task. The problem is that our brain gets so excited seeing things finished that it wants us to choose other tasks we can finish quickly as well. Try setting a limit on what you will finish before moving to a more complex task. Set it by number (i.e. I will respond to 3 emails) or by time (i.e. I'll give myself 10 minutes to research pricing).
Create a time block for "catch up" work.
Just having a place designated for such tasks will help you better focus on that more forward-moving activity. I find that placing this block near the end of of day helps me leave feeling... well... at least a little more caught up. It might be a lie, but if my brain thinks I'm on top of things, it will let me start the next day with a stronger ability to focus on my higher priorities. When it comes to productivity, my mantra is, "Whatever it takes."
Teaching yourself to work on higher priority tasks when there are so many items screaming for your attention isn't easy. But it's only when you can work above the noise of the urgent that you can get to the important and achieve the results that are most important to you and your organization. Instead of telling yourself, "I'll work on it when I get caught up," start saying, "I'm never going to get caught up... and that's okay."
For more on the topic of getting caught up, check out my video, The Lie You Need To Stop Telling Yourself About Your Workload.
