Constantly have irons in the fire
I always feel like i have a million projects in the works all at once. I can never stay focused on just one till completion, unless it's in a flow session. And i don't often get the time for those. Instead i'm just surrounded by all of these unfinished projects. I do get overwhelmed by them, and i wonder if i'm ever going to be successful or if I will ever find meaning in the things that I do.
I know that i need to take time to appreciate the projects that I do complete, and sit with the achievement, but i find it extremely hard to do so. I always feel like I'm behind the curve.
Not sure what to do with these feelings.
@affableStrings4654
What comes to mind are several jobs I've worked at where whenever I got partway through a project, some interruption would come up and I'd have to change direction and move on to something else, then another distraction would come along, and so on and so on. At the end of the day, I'd realize that I had worked to exhaustion, but never actually completed any one task.
It didn't help that I had ADHD, so along with being distracted by others, I’d be distracting myself.
I began making lists. There was never enough time to get all the work done, so I’d work on the most important things. Sometimes, the things I put off would become the most important things, especially if they were overdue for completion. One way or another, even with all the interruptions and my self distractions, I did well enough to keep bringing home a paycheck.
I think I got to the point where being overwhelmed was no longer overwhelming.
I think in modern society, it's impossible not to have several irons in the fire.
In any given moment, there is only that moment in which progress can be made. Multitasking is a myth, unless your circus performer who can juggle while brushing his teeth. A single day’s decently organized workload can be overwhelming. Yet how many people have their workloads decently organized?
My survival came through "bracketing time." In other words, I stopped thinking about all the stuff I had to do, and instead, focused on what I was able to accomplish within the next few minutes, or maybe an hour. Some people call that practice "mindfulness." If a million things need to be done, it's still only possible to do one thing at a time. Our thoughts don't need to wander around, looking at a bunch of stuff, with the only possible result, to be overwhelmed.
Sometimes, it's actually very convenient to have multiple projects going at the same time. Then you can say something like "I've got just 10 minutes, which is just enough time to do one thing on an ongoing project." By aligning the available time with a single step in a project, and repeating that process, projects inevitably become completed.
You might be anxious to get things done faster, but if the effort is overwhelming, progress will be much slower, or nonexistent.
Not sure what to do with the feelings? I suppose, accept that they are valid, based on how you see the situation. Are there other ways to look at the situation? For example, instead of looking at a room full of projects, mentally set them aside, and look at one thing that is both significant and achievable.
I'm glad that you acknowledge the need to take time to appreciate what you have accomplished. It's very important to do that because it builds both confidence and motivation.
