Sequencing commitments

Now that I’m preparing for my year-long sabbatical, I’m getting the sense there’s a lot I want to do… ALL AT ONCE!

Let me promote this course, create this other course, write this book… and this one… and that one! That’s a great book to read! Oh, and this one, too! Let me read this one NOW! But wait, I have to do this task for work. Whatever happened to that friend from school? Let me check up on him. Oh, and I’d love to catch up with this other guy! And visit that startup I promised I’d visit!

But for ambitious work to work, it has to be sequenced. Things can’t all happen at once. They need to be spread out, not stacked.

Do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by too many tasks vying for your attention all at once? How can you negotiate with them so that you don’t feel the pressure to do them all at once? Do you have a prioritization system? Is there a way for you to deal with the emotional tension when it comes to deciding between options?