The last few weeks were a little overwhelming as I had back-to-back offline and online classes. Lots of new information to digest, absorb, and assimilate.
Though I was convincing myself that I didn't need to take any pressure, there were times when my mind was racing with too much to do and process with the overload of information coming my way.
Even if we try and calm ourselves down, we somehow end up absorbing the pressure of a group without our awareness. During the times before WhatsApp, we don't get to see/feel/experience the thoughts of a large group, especially if everyone has different expectations towards a course/degree.
When we add something new - a new project, a new pursuit, a new initiative, etc, it is required that we reassess all the existing priorities and analyze how to fit in the new. This might require deprioritizing certain efforts, reallocating resources, or dropping certain pursuits.
In today's times when there are so many new opportunities and ideas to pursue OR if you are someone who dabbles with multiple interests, saying NO or deprioritizing certain initiatives is quite a challenging task. We somehow feel that we can keep adding more and more to our never-ending long to-do lists, even when we feel overwhelmed.
On 31st Jan, I sat down and jotted down all the ideas/initiatives/projects that have occupied my mind in a spreadsheet. I then added a Priority column and as a typical Product Manager would do, I prioritized them into P1/P2/P3/P4. Once the prioritization is done, clarity emerged. I felt a sigh of relief and decided to focus ONLY on P1 and P2 items in Feb.
For eg, in the whole of Jan, I had completed reading only one book "Stolen Focus" and am halfway through another book. I'm fulfilling my need for learning new information in the form of classes and study material and I don't need to overwhelm myself with reading other new books.
We don't need to sign up for every new workshop that seems useful, every new class that intrigues us, and every new opportunity that comes our way. Doing a few things really well is more effective than doing 100 things haphazardly.