Last week, I realized how much I had overcommitted myself to people and things. I was overloaded with too much work. While my professional responsibilities take precedence over other activities, I also felt the need for clear mental space to think and perform at my best. So, I started putting away non-essential tasks.
Some of these tasks were small, like helping move a website, assisting with a logo, a presentation, and being there for a friend’s poetry recital. I hadn’t realized that I had made a few promises I wouldn’t be able to keep.
Dealing with blindness and post-organ transplant medication consumes a lot of energy and mental space each day. I want to be there for everyone, but I simply cannot manage it all. I have about 80 unread messages on my WhatsApp, 3000 emails, and hundreds of Slack messages, not to mention other social channels where I hang out. I can’t be available for everyone every day, and my energy levels fluctuate due to various factors.
The turning point was when I promised someone help with their presentation and didn’t realize I was two weeks late. This personally hurt the person and left them in a vulnerable position because my feedback and guidance were crucial.
This incident woke me up. I’m going to slow down and focus on only 2-3 things that matter the most. This means I need to fulfill the backlog of things I’ve already started. Going forward, I won’t overcommit and will set boundaries on how much I am available to others.
While this note is a reflection for myself, I also want to take this opportunity to apologize to all those I have hurt. It was never intentional, and I will be more mindful going forward.
I know what you mean, I am also being challenged by digital fatigue. No time for family or to let my hair down. If I am lucky I get to watch the videos on YouTube that I have notifications turned on for. This further engages my mind so all notifications are for Stand-Up comedy nothing that will intellectually stimulate me to engage further. I am restricting my presence on SM; do have my accounts with Facebook, LinkedIN and Twitter. I don’t engage too much on LinkedIN because there are so many experts on the site, that you feel like a nobody. Facebook is for the groups and some random post that I end up reading and liking. Twitter has been my go to tool for advocacy for accessiblity and also where I share some brain droplets with the #BrainDamage tag. 300 mails at work, another 50 plus mails in my personal inbox. I get to clean my personal inbox at random intervals of the day and it’s on my phone that I manage that