What is your typical level, and is your company helping you staff or scale your role properly?
Level 1: NOT BUSY
Level 2: STUFF TO DO
Level 3: SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENTS
Level 4: AT CAPACITY
Level 5: CRACKS IN THE FACADE
Level 6: CRUSHING COMMITMENTS
Level 7: UNSUSTAINABLE
0voters
Level 1: NOT BUSY My schedule is wide open. I can choose infinite paths. Zero commitments. The weekend. I sleep like a baby. Life is good, but am I living my best life?
Level 2: STUFF TO DO I have a few commitments wandering around my brain. They are reasonable, knowable, and not deadline-based. I can keep track of everything in my head.
Level 3: SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENTS I have enough commitments that I need to keep track of them in a tool because I can no longer organically triage. My calendar is a thing I check infrequently, but I do check it to remind myself of the flavor of this particular day.
Level 4: AT CAPACITY My to-do and my calendar are full. I frequently have to make âWhat is more important?â decisions to help me figure out where to invest my time. There is no unscheduled time, but I continue to feel on top of things. Inbox zero maintained.
Level 5: CRACKS IN THE FACADE I tell myself Iâm on top of all the things, but there are early signs of excessive work. This is when Inbox Zero fails. I know daily surprises could be avoided if I had⌠just a bit more time. I start saying âIâm sorryâ a lot. Stuff isnât getting dropped, but execution becomes sloppy.
Level 6: CRUSHING COMMITMENTS The incoming amount of things are beyond my ability to triage them. Change is constant. Just saying âNoâ to inbound things is not enough. Stuff is falling on the floor, and Iâm not noticing. Work hours spill into life hours. Tired.
Level 7: UNSUSTAINABLE I live minute to minute. Eating and other necessities are shoved in-between things, but eating and other necessities are frequently neglected. To-do lists do not help me here because I do not have time to maintain them. My calendar changes from hour to hour. It is clear by how I walk how busy I am. I get a lot of unintentional âHeâs screwedâ looks. Zero work-life balance. This is not sustainable.
Im often on the forums, hiding from reality. When I am burned out, I will spend hours on the forums, just letting all the eggs drop on the floor, after Iâve asked for help 19 times Its therapeutic to see that others are suffering as well, migrating to Kinetic.
Right there with you @hkeric.wci. At the end of the day, I often chide myself on the drive home for my procrastination which create my Level 5 anxiety.
On a side note - anyone with a Psych degree on here? Does it sound like we need some group sessions?
Haso I was literally typing this, had a draft, and deleted it.
And with the same exact reasoning⌠I come here to help people who are in need like I am because I want everyone to know there are many people feeling the same way, many people who need help (including me).
funny but I almost do better having more areas to be busy in, so thereâs no way I can let parkinsonâs law take over. Iâm the ERP frankeneverythingmeister at work, serve as director on a private school board and charity, have 3 teenagers, am starting an e-commerce business the old way (ie not FBA), am renovating my basement and playing with a CNC router in my garageâŚ
I was way more stressed and overworked when all I did was go to work every day. Now I just move all the needles ever so slightly and manage expectations. Thankfully, there are people out there who are stressed and just cruise the forums looking for my questions to answer
âProductivity is a trap. Becoming more efficient just makes you more rushed, and trying to clear the decks simply makes them fill up again faster. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever achieved âwork-life balance,â whatever that might be, and you certainly wonât get there by copying the âsix things successful people do before 7:00 a.m.â The day will never arrive when you finally have everything under controlâwhen the flood of emails has been contained; when your to-do lists have stopped getting longer; when youâre meeting all your obligations at work and in your home life; when nobodyâs angry with you for missing a deadline or dropping the ball; and when the fully optimized person youâve become can turn, at long last, to the things life is really supposed to be about. Letâs start by admitting defeat: none of this is ever going to happen. But you know what? Thatâs excellent news.â
â Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
I wish I knew what work life balance is. Iâm constantly neglected life for work and it shows in my connections and I get burned out. I dream about work and that is bad and wake up in the middle of the night with solutions or possible solutions to try out along with lack of sleep because of burning the midnight oil. Too many items on my plate to possibly delegate or juggle myself. Unsustainable to say the least.
Its therapeutic to see that others are suffering as well, migrating to Kinetic. 
