The
expression, “don’t bite off more than you can chew” indicates that you’ve taken
on more than you can deal with, or you’ve attempt to do something that you’re
incapable of accomplishing. The origin of this idiom dates back to around 1870 when
a man offered another man a bite of his plug of chewing tobacco. The above caution
would remind the receiver not to be greedy. If you have felt over burden
lately, below are signs that scream loudly to you “don’t bite off more than you
can chew.”
Feeling
exhausted-Do you feel tired almost all day long, dozing after lunch
and longing for a long sleep on the weekend, or you wake up repeatedly during
the night? You probably are trading sleep hours for more work, paperwork, or
personal projects. Be sure to add some cool off time before going to sleep.
You need to
have a clear mind before going to bed. If you don’t, you’ll have a hard time
sleeping. You are not enjoying enough free time to clear your mind of daily life.
Look at your schedule. Do you have fun periods in it? If not, add whatever you
enjoy and are not doing.
Lack
of time for personal projects- This is one sign that can be easily
overlooked, but it is the easiest to see. If there are a lot of things you’d
like to do but never seem to find enough time to carry on, you’re probably
asking of yourself too much.
Write down
everything you need to do, to keep in mind how much you are skipping now to remember it later. Much like a
projects list, stuff that is outside your head lets your mind work more
effectively.
Memory
problems - Do you have a hard time remembering things? Do you feel
like you are in the middle of a whirlwind and unable to focus on anything? Do
you move around aimlessly trying to deal with issues that you ignore what is
most important? This is a clear sign that there is too much information in your
brain to pay attention to.
This issue may
be harder to spot because these days multitasking is paramount while
single-tasking is less frequent (although more desirable). Always try to focus
on just one task. Unless you are a firefighter or work in time-critical issues,
finish off things. Keep a journal, and write down everything you need to
remember. If you are extremely stressed,
consult a professional. Feeling like you’re
on the fast track simply means that things are getting done, and things you had
been planning are now set in motion. The key is to not resist the speed of
everything that’s happening, but to stay mindful to make sure it’s not getting
the better of you.
If
you’re starting to feel a little overwhelmed, but cutting back isn’t exactly an
option, try some of the tactics below to keep getting important work done without
going crazy.
Carve out time to think deeply-A lot of the stress of moving too quickly comes
from not knowing exactly where you’re headed. Being too caught up in the white
noise of constant activity makes it hard to get quality thinking
time in to determine where you’re trying to go and if the work you’re doing
really contributes to that. It may
help to reorganize your schedule by how thought-intensive your activities are,
and schedule less intensive events (such as one-on-one talks) before or after
your prime time for productivity and thinking.
If you find that you’re most
likely to get in the zone early afternoon or late morning, make it a point to
preserve a block of uninterrupted time for these key intervals. By identifying
your working rhythm and protecting your peaks of clear thinking, these valuable
opportunities to truly tap into your brainpower won’t fall to chance or
interruption.
Do not mistake busyness for productivity-Busyness mimics the actions of productivity, but one gets results where the other
may not. Make sure what you’re doing is
actually consistent with getting results that you need. The most common way to
fall into the busyness trap is by filling your time with small, unimportant
tasks.
Checking things off your to-do
list may strike a sense of accomplishment, but they may be things that are
better delegated to others, or don’t actually matter. Thinking critically about
whether the tasks you’re working on are actually important or if they’re just
filling your time can mean the difference between feeling like you’re getting
stuff done and actually accomplishing the goal you’ve set for yourself.
Evaluate necessary versus optional-In other words, make sure you’re working on the
right stuff that will actually take you toward your goals. Determining what’s
absolutely necessary to get there suddenly reduces the scope of the problem and
helps you filter out distractions, effectively letting you reallocate time to
what is truly essential. While this may seem obvious, you’d be surprised at how
much of your time ends up being devoted to gaining fringe benefits that seem
nice to have but actually divert you from what actually matters.
There are so many opportunities
for distraction that isolating what is actually necessary is similar to moving boulders. Once these are in place, your priorities
are immoveable and everything else will fall into place (or as much as will
fit) and you’ll discover the rest was probably all irrelevant anyway.
Find ways to compartmentalize-Quite often, the feeling of being overwhelmed is
amplified mostly by your perception of the situation. It could be the case that
your list of chores is long (or feels like it). Maybe everything from different
parts of your life is all tossed in together. Because how much you’re able to
tackle shifts based on where you are and what you’re doing, it makes more sense
to compartmentalize and block off the tasks (or worries) that you can’t do
anything about at the moment.
Focus instead on only one item,
task, or project at a time. Keeping a mental barrier to separate your feelings
of responsibility allows you to break down your obligations in sizeable chunks.
This way, you’ll be able to deal with them individually when it makes sense to,
and preserve a peace of mind at all other times.
Focus on the mission behind the
tasks-A long string of tasks seems
daunting to anyone, but those who are able to push forward are probably not
thinking of the tasks in and of themselves, but as small pieces that fit within
an overarching goal. For instance, seeing yourself as the agent in the context
of a larger mission allows you to focus less on how much you’re taking on and
more on the vision of how your work will have
an impact.
Often, putting your day-to-day
responsibilities in the context of why you’re doing them and how they align
within the bigger puzzle can lend more meaning to your individual assignments,
and give you the extra energy to push through.
Opt out of the resistance mindset-A lot of the discomfort that accompanies feeling
swamped comes from resistance. The more you expect everything to be manageable
but find yourself buried under mounting work, the more you feel the contrast
between your idealistic expectation and a tough reality.
It’s counterintuitive, but
sometimes trying to maintain control when things are spinning out of control
just makes it worse. Accepting that more deals, engagements, or projects are
happening more frequently for the next few weeks is an effective way to take a
fast-paced life (and everything that comes with it) in stride.
Prioritize based on others-Another good way to prioritize is to make sure that anything on your overloaded
plate isn’t preventing anyone else from getting work done. In other words, if
someone else’s job is contingent on something you do, get that piece done
first.
For example, if I know I’m
getting behind in emails, I take a moment to sort out how likely my lack of
response will hold other people up. If others are waiting for my reply to
complete the next step, then those tasks are my first priority. Progress will be
made as soon as you pass it off to others, lightening your guilt (and
perception of stress) for holding them up.
“An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little
more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how to chew it.” (Roy Ash)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“7 Signs You Bite Off More than You Can Chew” by RBerenguel
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