3 Keys Thursday: 3 Keys to Digging Out

Photo: Dodgerton Skillhause via Morguefile

It's 9:50 pm and I am just starting this post. It's fair to say that I'm a little overbooked.

Although I love to be busy isn't my primary style, I do sometimes bite off a tad more than I can chew. When that happens, things pile up, and even making a list of what I need to do can be stressful because that means admitting everything I have to do.

As I see it, there are three ways to dig out when you're overwhelmed.

All at once. Pick a time, grit your teeth and power through. Give yourself a little leeway if you can by setting aside more time than you think you'll need, and don't despair if you don't make it all the way through. You're aiming for progress, not perfection.

A little at a time. No big chunks of time available? Five minutes here and fifteen minutes there can still lead to progress. It's slower going, so the piles linger and the to-do lists stay long for longer, but sometimes, it's the only option. Again, you're aiming for progress, not perfection.

The delegation plan. Is all of this really yours to do? Hand off what you can hand off (and be willing to accept the manner in which the person you delegated the job to does the job) and tackle the rest using one of the plans above. And hey, progress is still progress whether you did it yourself or assigned it to someone else.

If you, like me, have been here before, you've probably learned that what's important gets done and what falls through the cracks might just have landed exactly where it belongs. Take it one step at a time and forge your path. And, if it doesn't all get done...

Tomorrow is another day.