That week you are overcommitted or overwhelmed

[ivanjay205]

I retooled my GTD system earlier this year to MUCH success with a new selection of contexts etc. However, a few activities at work and some surprises at home in terms of sick kids, an injured kid, lots of activities, etc. led to an overwhelming week where it seemed like all I could do was capture capture capture and get to nothing. I was staying in my daily routine but really not pushing forward too much on the work front.

Just partially venting but also curious how many of you get through those weeks? I know an interim weekly review is one strategy but I just stayed with my typical daily routine knowing my big weekly review would come (it is happening right now, this is a step where I reflect on my system) . So just wanted to see if anyone else has any special tricks to manage through this or just keep your head down and know it will all be there for you next week when you get back to it?

 

[dtj]

Those overwhelming weeks are when GTD shines. Not because you get a ton of s**t done, but because you don't go down in flames. Just ending the week upright is the win. In my workgroup, when "stuff came up" was the excuse for not getting pre-planned projects done, we referred to it as OBE, "Overtaken By Events". The real test is whether you dust youreelf off and get back in the fight, as before.

Once you're beyond the extra stuff, it might be a good time to do a short post-mortem and figure out whether you could have done better through preparation. For instance, when we go into cold and flu season, we pre-buy all the things you'd need for handle those, like making sure we have plenty of decongestants and pedialyte (electrolyte drink), and our tylenol supply is adequate, so we don't have to goto the store in the event someone gets sick. When I get overwhelmed, it's good to know what to throw over the side first, and hopefully reduce the stress before it gets problematic.

 

[bcmyers2112]

My "trick" is to recognize that on some days you don't need to thrive, just survive.

 

[dtj]

My "trick" is to recognize that on some days you don't need to thrive, just survive.

As a youth coach in contact sports, I often have to teach the difference between being "hurt" and "injured". Like you said, you just have to survive it. Hopefully you atleast get a groovy bruise and a good story out of it, and continue on.

 

[ivanjay205]

Those overwhelming weeks are when GTD shines. Not because you get a ton of s**t done, but because you don't go down in flames. Just ending the week upright is the win. In my workgroup, when "stuff came up" was the excuse for not getting pre-planned projects done, we referred to it as OBE, "Overtaken By Events". The real test is whether you dust youreelf off and get back in the fight, as before.

Once you're beyond the extra stuff, it might be a good time to do a short post-mortem and figure out whether you could have done better through preparation. For instance, when we go into cold and flu season, we pre-buy all the things you'd need for handle those, like making sure we have plenty of decongestants and pedialyte (electrolyte drink), and our tylenol supply is adequate, so we don't have to goto the store in the event someone gets sick. When I get overwhelmed, it's good to know what to throw over the side first, and hopefully reduce the stress before it gets problematic.

This is exactly how I do feel. Even in the midst of the chaos there was too much going on but I never felt out of control. I just felt like oh sh*t this is a wasted week next week but I will get to it next week.

I actually have a next action in my weekly review checklist to review my GTD setup and productivity for the week so I do that every Friday during weekly review. A few minutes to reflect and do any minor tweaks or adjustments or say yup all worked well. So during that time I really did realize that a thorough weekly review was in order and doing that yesterday was very productive for me.

 

[dtj]

A few minutes to reflect and do any minor tweaks or adjustments or say yup all worked well. So during that time I really did realize that a thorough weekly review was in order and doing that yesterday was very productive for me.

That's awesome! Getting back on track FTW.

 

[bcmyers2112]

Like you said, you just have to survive it.

Well, you certainly can't do much after the crisis has passed if you don't survive it. But upon further thought I realized that my response might've been a tad too flip. I mean, you don't want to live your whole life in survival mode. At least I don't want to. Not if I can avoid it, anyway.

Because I'm posting in a forum that's literally dedicated to a particular life management system, I'm pretty sure the thought that what people need is a way to get back in control at the first available opportunity isn't gonna strike anyone as particularly brilliant. I'm fairly sure pretty much everyone reading this thread has already thought of that.

I'll just say that when @ivanjay205 asks about whether anyone has "special tricks" for managing times when life gets out of control, sometimes my "special trick" is not looking for special tricks. There are times when things get so out of control you can't do anything other than put out fires.

I remember when my wife got so ill with a gastrointestinal bug I had to call my employer to let them know I wasn't coming in. I planned to take her to the hospital, only to realize things had gotten bad enough I had to call an ambulance. While the paramedics were preparing to transport her she had a seizure. Fortunately it was not serious; sometimes dehydration can cause seizures and she had sure as hell become dehydrated. Anyway, soon after I had taken her home from the hospital I started feeling a little off. I ended up catching what she did. It was a bad scene.

My point is, I'm not sure I could've done much of a "post mortem" on this one. What was there to tweak? Should I have told my wife the stomach bug was fine but the seizure was taking things a bit too far? Should I have made a note for future reference that the next time I got a bug like this I could try throwing up fewer times?

I realize I'm being ridiculous and no one is suggesting such things. I'm just saying I think it's tempting when practicing GTD to think that there's no aspect of life that we shouldn't analyze for possible tweaks and improvements. As I've gotten older I've come to realize there are times when things go off the rails in ways you can't plan or prepare for.

I think as long as you have a means for getting back in control as soon as you're able, there's no sense in worrying about "coulda, shoulda, woulda" when you're hit with things you couldn't have realistically expected. Heck, even if it's something you maybe could've anticipated, or maybe you dropped the ball somewhat during the crisis, it's worth remembering that none of us are perfect. Even if you can tweak your system so that you don't make a particular mistake again (and I'm learning as I get older that it's foolish to think we can ever inoculate ourselves against making the same mistake again -- it happens to the best of us), you're just really clearing the deck to make new mistakes.

So I guess this is a roundabout way of saying that whether it's GTD or something else, you just need a way to pick up the pieces after the crisis and move forward.

And yes, I realize this forum is about GTD and not "something else." I guess as I explore my life I'm no longer 100% sure whether my path should include GTD or "something else." If it is "something else," I can assure people I won't be continuing to post here as an anti-GTD troll. Just as it doesn't make sense to go to a forum of NFL fans to tell them "football sucks," it wouldn't make sense to continue participating in a GTD forum just to tell everyone they should do something else. Just 'cause something isn't right for me doesn't mean it isn't right for someone.

 

[René Lie]

Well, you certainly can't do much after the crisis has passed if you don't survive it. But upon further thought I realized that my response might've been a tad too flip. I mean, you don't want to live your whole life in survival mode. At least I don't want to. Not if I can avoid it, anyway.

Because I'm posting in a forum that's literally dedicated to a particular life management system, I'm pretty sure the thought that what people need is a way to get back in control at the first available opportunity isn't gonna strike anyone as particularly brilliant. I'm fairly sure pretty much everyone reading this thread has already thought of that.

I'll just say that when @ivanjay205 asks about whether anyone has "special tricks" for managing times when life gets out of control, sometimes my "special trick" is not looking for special tricks. There are times when things get so out of control you can't do anything other than put out fires.

I remember when my wife got so ill with a gastrointestinal bug I had to call my employer to let them know I wasn't coming in. I planned to take her to the hospital, only to realize things had gotten bad enough I had to call an ambulance. While the paramedics were preparing to transport her she had a seizure. Fortunately it was not serious; sometimes dehydration can cause seizures and she had sure as hell become dehydrated. Anyway, soon after I had taken her home from the hospital I started feeling a little off. I ended up catching what she did. It was a bad scene.

My point is, I'm not sure I could've done much of a "post mortem" on this one. What was there to tweak? Should I have told my wife the stomach bug was fine but the seizure was taking things a bit too far? Should I have made a note for future reference that the next time I got a bug like this I could try throwing up fewer times?

I realize I'm being ridiculous and no one is suggesting such things. I'm just saying I think it's tempting when practicing GTD to think that there's no aspect of life that we shouldn't analyze for possible tweaks and improvements. As I've gotten older I've come to realize there are times when things go off the rails in ways you can't plan or prepare for.

I think as long as you have a means for getting back in control as soon as you're able, there's no sense in worrying about "coulda, shoulda, woulda" when you're hit with things you couldn't have realistically expected. Heck, even if it's something you maybe could've anticipated, or maybe you dropped the ball somewhat during the crisis, it's worth remembering that none of us are perfect. Even if you can tweak your system so that you don't make a particular mistake again (and I'm learning as I get older that it's foolish to think we can ever inoculate ourselves against making the same mistake again -- it happens to the best of us), you're just really clearing the deck to make new mistakes.

So I guess this is a roundabout way of saying that whether it's GTD or something else, you just need a way to pick up the pieces after the crisis and move forward.

And yes, I realize this forum is about GTD and not "something else." I guess as I explore my life I'm no longer 100% sure whether my path should include GTD or "something else." If it is "something else," I can assure people I won't be continuing to post here as an anti-GTD troll. Just as it doesn't make sense to go to a forum of NFL fans to tell them "football sucks," it wouldn't make sense to continue participating in a GTD forum just to tell everyone they should do something else. Just 'cause something isn't right for me doesn't mean it isn't right for someone.

I just wanted to add to this that if you have as much control on as much as you can, this will most likely make you more ready for surprise!

 

[bcmyers2112]

I just wanted to add to this that if you have as much control on as much as you can, this will most likely make you more ready for surprise!

Wow. With just once sentence you've managed to put your finger on the value of GTD in a very succinct and powerful way. I think David Allen has talked about how some of us tend toward wanting too much control, but a lot more people have too little of it. There's a sweet spot. It's OK to be out of control sometimes as a long as you have a way to get back in control. Nicely said, sir.

 

[ivanjay205]

I just wanted to add to this that if you have as much control on as much as you can, this will most likely make you more ready for surprise!

I do think this is such a great line and it is so true. While the week was difficult I truly never felt out of control, I just felt non productive. I did know everything had its place and was organized and would be there next week.

 

[Zaneta]

I've been talking alot recently with my partner about emotional labour, regarding how little is understood in the general world, and how undervalued it is.
I have yet to really be able to capture what I do in this space as a task, as a lot I do out of habit, and the rest is part of unplanned work.
There are a couple of reasons I mention this;
1) Just like @dtj said about pre-buying ready for flu season, there is a lot of emotional labour that can happen before that people don't always recognise can or is happening. For example My Sister is going through a hard time, she struggles with mental health (doing ok atm). Though last year I knew there were some events coming up that would cause her more stress, so I picked up my game in reaching out to her regularly, making sure she felt heard, setting up time to visit and be there for appointments. So doing all this (with the others in her support network) helped prevent something worse from happening.
2) It sounds like you are all doing it, with mentions of caring and supporting that's mentioned above. So whether unplanned or not, recognise the mental load doing that type of work takes and celebrate it! I understand this point doesn't relate to the thread, but it felt like you were all undervaluing the life-changing impact you have when you do this kind of work.

In my workgroup, when "stuff came up" was the excuse for not getting pre-planned projects done, we referred to it as OBE, "Overtaken By Events"

I'm very much going to start using this

 

[dtj]

I'm very much going to start using this

The funny thing was that OBE was almost inevitable. I work in an industry that is kinda fluid at a macro level, and we were doing annual planning. Things can, and did, change pretty significantly through out the year, and suddenly our priorities could change drastically. So year end reviews were essentially "remember what I said in january? that went out the window by june, and here's what I did".

 

[ivanjay205]

The funny thing was that OBE was almost inevitable. I work in an industry that is kinda fluid at a macro level, and we were doing annual planning. Things can, and did, change pretty significantly through out the year, and suddenly our priorities could change drastically. So year end reviews were essentially "remember what I said in january? that went out the window by june, and here's what I did".

I actually do a mini quarterly review for this reason. My business plan I setup in November/December has not even started to take shape. But at the end of Q1 I evaluate the long term overarching goals and short term as compared to the business plan and the needs today. Sometimes it means we make edits to the plan, sometimes it means we park it and focus on the needs of today without losing sight of long term initiatives that might get pushed back a quarter or two.

 

[dtj]

As a followup, remember what I said in March? I'm not working that way any more. We've moved to an AGILE world and now do 2 week sprints with twice weekly standups. Change is the only constant.