Being Caught Up

I read this very interesting article that I simply have to share. It’s about “being caught up,” - you can click here to give it a read yourself.

Being caught up…meaning having everything crossed off your “to do” list and feeling satisfied that you’ve accomplished what you need to do. Completely. Done for the day. Being caught up.

It’s impossible. There’s simply no such thing because the minute you think you might be “done for the day,” then along comes a text message or an email or a WhatsApp message with another “to do.” Yes it can be maddening but more significantly it can be discouraging. Really discouraging.

Back in the day, I will admit, it was easier to be “done for the day.” When I was in grad school at Columbia and at my first job at Johnson & Johnson, I had paper “to do” lists every day so I knew what I needed to accomplish. We didn’t have email or mobile phones, so the day often ended as planned. Sure there were curve balls almost every day too, but we’d mark that for the next day to tackle. I’m over simplifying it for sure and making it sound better than it actually was, but it was easier to get caught up each day.

So as a result, that list of items crossed off at the end of the day left us with a feeling of accomplishment. A feeling of being caught up. A feeling that we had completed our list.

Honestly, technology has taken that away from us.

But it’s okay, we can replace that feeling with another one: being valuable. Instead of feeling the need to be done for the day, we can feel the sense that we’ve added value to the day. We helped a colleague finish a project, we hit a milestone on one of our own initiatives, we solved a major problem getting in the way, we on-boarded a new team member who is excited to join, etc, etc.

Rather than focusing on being caught up, we should instead focus on what value we have created. What have we done for the day and what can we feel good about for the day? Answer that question and then move on to the next day.

Being valuable, not being caught up.

What do you think? What’s your experience? JIM