Last week was a busy week.
Two months into my new job, the transition process is near completion. All accounts have been transferred to my plate, and now I feel the weight of the load on my shoulders.
For the first time, I was stuck on my computer for hours jumping from one account to the next while simultaneously figuring out all the processes of this company.
In the first weeks, I felt like I was drowning under the new information and the demands. It was as if I was walking in the dark and feeling my way through a cave. As weeks turned into months, light began to seep through, and the faint forms of the stalactites and stalagmites glitter in the darkness.
As my eyes adjusted to the light, I learned that the cave was bigger than I expected and the weight of exploring it so much heavier. That was my week.
I could not seem to log off with all that needed to get done. So here are a few things that helped me cope with the start of a busy week.
1. Look At the Clock
This one had me thinking if I should be wearing a watch in the house and had me musing over the prospect of a smartwatch. With all the meetings from my new role, a smartwatch may just be dandy. I probably won’t splurge on anything tho.
Back to the topic, focusing on task after task can get you lost in the endless list of To-dos. Twelve noon hits me like a brick wall, and even then, I refuse to get up to eat until another half an hour at minimum.
I was already prone to this when in the office. And it seems to have worsened working from home.
When I physically reported to the office, workmates stopping work to get lunch or head back home gave me a sense of time. Them deciding what to you reminded me that I needed to take a lunch break or head home. Working alone and on your own time makes you feel like you have all and none the time in the world.
It is easier to think that you could finish all this load now and chill for the rest of the day, which leads you to hours and hours of restless typing and thinking. No wonder my mind shut down today. It is just a Thursday as I write this, but my mind was tired for the week.
Even if your work is free of the strict nine to five, you can still clock in and out for yourself. Clock out for lunch break, a 15-minute afternoon break, and the end of the work day. I’m learning too, and so can you.
2. Step Away and Step Outside
Today, I ate yogurt ice cream as I was embraced by the warm sun after lunch. The breeze dancing with tree branches and the birds singing to their beat pushed aside the dread over this complicated email.
After working almost eight hours straight for the past three days, my mind wanted to kick back even just for the day. It only wanted to handle lighter tasks. I caught myself escaping responsibility many times today with my phone in hand. Coming to understand my emotions and body, I was tired and overwhelmed.
Since nothing was urgent, I could take it a bit easier today than the past few days. This encouraged me to take a little more time after eating lunch to bathe under the warm sunlight, greek yogurt popsicle in hand.
After that 15-20 minute time of screen-less solitude, I came back to my laptop. I was ready to finish my work day. The email was done, more emails were sent, and it was already 5 pm. A few more tasks to complete, and it was half past 5. I was now running late for dinner with my previous officemates.
You may think productivity is confined in the walls of an office and bound to hand typing on keyboards and eyes glued to computer screens. But the truth is, freedom may be the best way to keep your mind going.
3. Lists
It takes time to organize. And I get it. I already feel like I am running short on time. I know that once I write the tasks down, I won’t feel so overwhelmed. But time forces me to continue in my mess.
There were a few days this week when I was drowned in tasks. My thought process and organization went down the drain. And instead of fixing all the tasks on my list, I just kept stomping through—feeling more lost in the process.
After feeling like I’d been going around in circles—jumping from one account to the next—I went back to my list.
I added the necessary, crossed off the completed, and laid out each step I still needed to take. Only then did I realize that I successfully fumbled through most of my tasks for the day. I was almost done with the work day with time to spare. Suddenly, I can breathe when, moments prior, loose ends seemed to be dangling about.
Lists are saving me right now, even if I am still learning the discipline to stick to organizing my tasks. It may just help you too.
4. Shut the (Work) Computer
After 5 to 6 pm, my work day is pretty much done. I should walk my dog, exercise, have dinner, and read a book after that hour. Aside from that, I should be getting some writing done, my laptop in bed, and my midnight thoughts racing.
Since I leave my laptop on, it is easy to drop into Slack, check my emails, and look at my notifications on BaseCamp. Before I know it, I’m checking details and seeing how I should handle tasks for tomorrow.
These are troubles for the next work day, not today.
I have to keep reminding myself that the future me will handle those problems. The present me still has personal things to attend to.
Given my current situation, I am trying to shut my laptop down after work, even if I should be writing or engaging. I am trying my best to write every day even in longhand so I don’t have my laptop on. Unless it is a Thursday night and I am cramming a piece before the Friday deadlines.
I had a friend that told me shutting down her laptop was a sign of the end of the work day. She does not do anything else on the computer but work. The machine running reminds her of all the tasks that she will have to face.
I may be experiencing the same thing right now as I learn to separate my time for work and time for personal projects. Something my brother does having a dedicated laptop for work (company provided—luckily) and a dedicated laptop for gaming.
While you and I don’t have that setup, maybe we could all go old school for other projects and leave the laptop for work until we find the best alternative.
Busyzi 