Answering the Question: Express-o

What it feels like when I’m doing too much. It’s not cute.

How do you know when you’re doing too much?

How do I know there’s too much on my plate? Well, how about the fact that this is the first time I’m sending y’all a Friday reflection in about a month, so how about we start there.

It’s a joke, but that really is one of the clearest signs that I have too much going on. It’s when the things I stand the most to gain from doing are left undone because I focus on achieving the things I can get done. My to do list becomes filled with everything from the most mundane (shave) to the most critical (find a new therapist), and in that process the lowest fruits get picked, leaving behind no energy for the things that need to get done.

But that’s how I fill my plate, the question for this week is figuring out how to identify the full plate when you’re in it.

For me, that takes the form of hyperactivity. My engine kicks in and in the most McLaren-like way I go from 0-60 before I even notice. Suddenly, I’m multitasking my way through a day, starting-and-stopping countless tasks in unison, neglecting my own health (poor dietary choices, skipping exercise), and experiencing the jitters. When my plate is too full it’s like someone injected a sextuple-espresso into my bloodstream. I can feel every dart of my eyes. My hands tremble over my keyboard. Sitting is uncomfortable. The prospect of there being “so much to do” kicks me into the type of overdrive that is best described as the opposite of flow state….chaos state?

It doesn’t take long of being in this state for me to recognize that it’s happening. My problem is slowing down and stepping out of it. It feels a bit like I’m the Road Runner and I’m waiting for someone to drop the net or the trap to catch me, because my own brakes are faulty.

Lately though, I’ve found a fairly lo-fi way to try to bring this stillness about on my own. I sit, and I breathe. I’m fortunate enough to live in a place where, any time of year, I can sit outside and stare at the trees or the sky. But even if I couldn’t, I’d be able to do this inside my own home. I take 5-15 minutes, put devices away, look at the horizon, and take deep, deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. It’s scientifically-proven that deep breathing can lower blood pressure and reduce stress and anxiety. For me, within just a few moments of starting the exercise, I begin to feel myself experience more stillness.

And after that short window, I don’t just hop back in to what I was doing before. No. This is my opportunity to re-prioritize. Before getting back up, I look at my list. I part ways with the things that aren’t important (for good, or moving them to a different day or time), and I pick out the 1-3 most critical things for me to get done. The ones that I’ve either been trying to avoid by doing too much, or the ones that will make the biggest difference in my life.

Then, I go tackle them.

Maybe I’ll get to that now.

Something for the weekend

I’ve yet to lock in a feature here that feels authentic to me and this newsletter, so you probably have noticed that I haven’t included this lately in my updates. But this week I do have a single image for you. Something to cleanse your mind and timeline.

I love them both and you can miss me with your hate. Thanks.

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See you Sunday!