I admit it—I’m a project-aholic. When I sink my teeth into a project I have a tendency to ignore everything else: cleaning the house, checking email, making dinner, talking with other humans, dentist appointments…
You get the idea. Part of my problem is that my brain operates in out-of-sight/out-of-mind mode. When I’m focused on something, I simply forget everything else exists. And even when I am brought back to normal awareness (by the cat requesting demanding more food) I still easily overlook anything I haven’t written on a sticky note.
This isn’t a big deal when I’m facing a smallish project, the kind that lasts no more than a day or two. I come out of my project fog before the dust bunnies take over the living room or the plants have all died from lack of water.
However, when I’m involved in a really big project, my project-mode-oblivion can go on for weeks. After a few days I begin to get that niggling feeling that I’m ignoring something important, but I don’t want to lose focus so I push the thought aside and keep going.
The longer the project lasts, the more I ignore, until I feel like I’m whizzing downhill on a rollercoaster, with too much momentum to stop and too much speed to notice what’s happening around me. I know there are things I ought to be paying attention to, but I’m stuck in the track and I feel like I’m just along for the ride.
Anyone else been there?
I’m there right now. I’ve been scrambling to rewrite a major chunk of manuscript just before heading off to a conference. (On top of all the other things I was planning to do in preparation for the conference, like a website redesign, and things I wasn’t planning on, like car shopping …)
So I’ve been riding the coaster for the last few weeks. I’ve tried to climb off now and then and spend time with actual people, but mostly it’s been me and the laptop.
I’m hoping that post conference my life will slow down for a while. I know other projects are looming, but if I can attack them in small chunks I should be able to avoid the major roller coaster hills. At least that’s the plan…
Has your life felt like a rollercoaster lately? How do you cope when life straps you into the car and sends you whizzing down the hill?
What are your secrets for keeping calm when rollercoaster projects loom?