MONTHLY BLOG 164, COPING WITH MULTI-PRESSURES

If citing, please kindly acknowledge copyright © Penelope J. Corfield (2024)

Head spinning

Head Spinning © Vector Art 2024

This BLOG records my super-busy time in May/June/July 2024 and my tactic for coping. Before departing for a mini-break in western Ireland, followed by the annual ISECS-EC meeting 1 – this year in Maynooth, near Dublin – every research task that I had ever placed in the ‘Futures’ pipeline came to fruition simultaneously and unexpectedly. My head span. I was psychologically upset.

By temperament, I am what is known as a ‘Taskie’ (‘Tasky’?), as opposed to a ‘Multi-tasker’. I really like to focus upon one job at a time. How then to cope with half a dozen large tasks, as well as lots of little ones, all of these being authentically urgent at the same time?

My first instinct was to take to my bed. I was exhausted in advance and wanted only to sleep. But every time I awoke, I felt even more agitated. The tasks still needed urgent attention … and the time for delivery had been shortened. I did not even try taking to the bottle, because I knew that recovering after a bout of heavy drinking would only make me feel much, much worse.

Well, there was only one thing for it. I had to compile a super-list, in which I ruthlessly prioritised all these tasks. I then sub-divided the list into groups, and dealt with one group at a time. The rule was then, whilst doing one group, not to think or worry about the others.2 And, within each group, then to complete the tasks in the specified order. Otherwise, there’s an ever-present risk that the easy things get done and the trickier ones get endlessly postponed.

Once one group of tasks is done, then a short breather is allowed – before getting into the next group. It’s like climbing a mountain range by looking constantly at the intermediate peaks – and not staring all the time at the summit of Mount Everest.

In a nutshell, it’s compartmentalise – concentrate – complete … and, dear readers, I managed to finish all my urgent tasks before taking a break in Ireland. The weather was not brilliant but the lifting of multi-pressures, plus the glorious Irish greenery and unbeatable Irish hospitality, certainly was!

Roll on the next work crisis, if the finale is as pleasant … Do I really mean that?? I thought that retirement was supposed to be a period of calm and relaxation. Nevertheless, I seem to get busier and busier day by day. Oh well! Let’s make a list, compartmentalise … and look forward to the next big breather.

ENDNOTES:

1 For the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies/ Société Internationale, see https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/portail/gscw031?owa_no_site=304.

2 Having written this BLOG, I then checked on the web, under the heading of too-many-things-to-do-all-at-once, and discover that this method of grouping tasks together is called ‘Chunking’. Glad to know that others are playing in the same ball-park. For a more elaborate version, see https://www.tonyrobbins.com/blog/power-of-chunking (viewed 30/7/2024). ‘Chunking’ is also used as a technique for improving human memory: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chunking (psychology) (viewed 30/7/2024).

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