I didn’t have a post ready for today, and now I only have an hour to write it before a 3pm teleseminar. Also…
- My resumé (still) needs updating for a nifty video tutorials gig
- That ebook ghostwriting project is calling
- I have four other websites that need attention
- My To Read and To Listen folders have ebooks and MP3s back to January
- My desk is so covered with papers that I can’t even work there anymore
(which is why I gotta be on time for my decluttering teleseminar)
In short, I’m fucked. And I have no one to blame but myself. Here’s what happened—
The problem: I love projects
I love the smell of a new business idea, and then brainstorming out loud (even if only talking to myself) and mad scribbles on a notepad. I love setting up a new blog and peeling back the bubble wrap for those first ten posts. I love planning stuff and working on stuff and all that stuff. Love it. Loveitloveit.
But there are only 24 hours in a day, and a decent chunk of that needs to go to cooking, eating, sleeping, snuggling with the husband, cleaning the apartment, exercising away my fat ass, and sorting through detritus from my previous lives. And yet most of those don’t get done on any given day. A sure sign something is awry in my world.
The clincher was when my project manager (Buddha bless him) informed me the only way to complete and maintain my 2009 projects by myself was if I pushed most of the projects out until next year…through to October 2010…
…and if I worked 8 productive hours every Monday through Friday—with no holidays or vacation—for the next 18 months.
As. If.
Too many eggs. Too many baskets.
The real problem: Plan B…and C, D & E
After many Havi-esque conversations with myself, I uncovered the flawed philosophy that led me to believe my interesting-but-overwhelming collection of projects—and their endless parade of tasks—is desirable, admirable, and even necessary:
Gotta have a Plan B
And just in case Plan B doesn’t work, there’s gotta be a Plan C. And D. And maybe E. Because every backup plan needs its own backup plan. Because trusting one business project to pay the bills scares the pee out of me.
Thing is, any one of my projects might yield sufficient income if it got all of my attention. Any one of them could fail, too, but at this pace I’ll never know. With so many things going on, I never put my full will behind any of them. Nothing gets far enough, fast enough to run under its own momentum and maybe give a glimpse of its actual potential.
I’ve worn myself out trying to sail a fleet of business projects on my insecurity…there’s just no way I can power and steer and maintain all of these ships at the same time.
Too many eggs. Too many baskets.
And too many metaphors 
The solution: A few eggs, one basket
It’s already gone too far. I dread getting out of bed because of the heap of work that’s waiting for me. I want to hide from my work. I want to hide from my life. So it’s all gotta go.
Well, not all of it. I’m keeping a few special eggs and my favorite basket.
This blog is the basket, and online business case studies are one of the eggs (thanks for the feedback on that). Video tutorials are an important part of that, so this new gig fits in nicely. DoodleFinder.com is a keeper for trying out online business tools and strategies first-hand.
That means a strong finish to my projects-in-progress, and no new projects for a long while. It will take a month or two to get clear of it all, but it’s worth the effort (and the wait) for a simpler work+life.
First step: A clean desk. It’s 4:07pm, way late for clean-up class. But hey, better late than never…
.
Et tu? How do you know when you’re doing too much? How do you get through (or over) it?
I’ll take some of those eggs if you don’t want them. I always feel like I have too few!
“I dread getting out of bed because of the heap of work that’s waiting for me.”
I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels this way.
The special eggs, the ones you keep in your favorite basket, will be the ones that pay off in the end. The rest will come when it’s the right time.
Recent blog post from Pamela Weir: We Should Always Market Like There’s a Recession
You know you are doing to much when you stop enjoying what you used to love……
I heard Eve Ensler say once, ” Some times opportunity is really distraction in a sexy red dress.”
So as I roll through life, I look at all the the things I wanna do, things I could do, and and really analyze if its a red dress.
And I see it all the time, closets full of red dresses.
But not mine. If one sneaks in as soon as recognize it it is out the door, “Sorry, over committed, I will not be able to this with the verve it deserves.”
Unfortunately I mostly have this conversation with myself.
Here is my current red dress list: Underground restaurant, squatting to own/adverse possession: do it, then write an ebook, knitted uteri to sell on etsy and and and ……..The road goes on forever, the party never ends.
ps. Yay! the blog gets to stay!
Recent blog post from rowan: [Get-Cultured] What The Heck Is THAT and Why Do I Want To Eat It?
You either have too much time on your hands with no money or too much money on your hands with no time. Very few people have both at the same time.
Howdy! Thanks for the great comments
@Chris There’s never a shortage of business ideas running around here, but the ideas you have simmering are plenty good (IMO). Keep working that “Freelancing with Depression” class? Maybe some more posts on it, test deeper interest with a short ebook, and then work your way up to a teleseminar? Worthy topic.
@Pam Thanks for the vote of confidence! I do feel like it’s the right thing. Anything that’s involves teaching stays, anything not is outta here… (which means Office for Smarties is a way keeper, I can only nibble at it for a while, is all)
@rowan What a gorgeous quote, and totally on target. I even got all misty-eyed…and then I read the bit about the knitted uteri and burst out laughing in the most loving way. What are you up to over there? Got a link for me?
@ferrariboy Dude, welcome, and you are SO right about that. Excellent thought…
@Jason Whoops, sorry I missed you the first time through
And you’re absolutely right…another sure sign that things were amiss. Thanks for dropping in!
As a fellow project junkie, I’m constantly cautioning myself about having all my eggs in one basket, or having too many eggs in one basket, and avoiding the pitfalls of either one. But I’m like you in that the idea of putting all my effort into one basket and trusting it to pay the bills scares me to death – and thus, like you, I feel like nothing I’m working on really gets my best effort. The “multiple streams of income” (e.g. multiple baskets) mantra can really keep you running.
Thanks for sharing where you’re at with this and helping fellow project junkies like me focus and choose a favorite basket, as well as choose the most important eggs to put in it. And maybe it’s still okay and wise to have more than one basket – just not the five or six (or ten) I currently have going.
Lots to think about! Thanks.
Recent blog post from Dee Wilcox: INTJ, Meet ENFP
Yea, I have the bad habit of always taking on new projects which are outside my original scope. Putting together a business plan has helped keep me from getting to many things going at once. So many things to do, so little time.
Sometimes we only have two hands and two legs to do all the task that we want to
For me,I do the most important task to complete.I give rating for each task that I need to do … so i can focus until it done.and …. next!
Recent blog post from Melayu Boleh Blog: Melayu Boleh Fast Update # 1
Maybe you should outsource some of those eggs.
I spent 10 years with a fortune 50 company and then burned out in a flash of disaster. I’ve fought for 5 years now as a small business owner. Still on the edge, but still here. One of my baskets is Internet SEO Blog which I use to capture ideas and tools for online businesses. I think having something like this is very cathartic and often times profitable. Just keep fighting!
Recent blog post from B Charles: Tweet Later for Twitter Management
You are not alone. If you plan to do too much, you would do nothing. But if you plan on doing little, you would do the best.
————-
Steve
Recent blog post from How to make money: Make Money Online With A Blog
Having too many eggs and taking action is way better than too many and doing nothing. “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” Buddha taught me that
Recent blog post from Alex Gold: Terms of Service
One of the biggest problems I have is staying focused. Working at home is a dream and, as part of the entrepreneur mindset I have, I see opportunity all around. It is common to get pulled in so many directions that you don’t focus long enough on one project to make it worth while.
Recent blog post from Mathew: The Best Retirement Plan.Residual Income!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that feels this way.
The special eggs, the ones you keep in your favorite basket, will be the ones that pay off in the end. The rest will come when it’s the right time.
Thanks for sharing where you’re at with this and helping fellow project junkies like me focus and choose a favorite basket, as well as choose the most important eggs to put in it. And maybe it’s still okay and wise to have more than one basket – just not the five or six (or ten) I currently have going.