What to do when overwhelmed at work? [closed]

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How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do? Right now, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the things I am expected to do. Just to give an example of a week's schedule:

1. I must develop translators (from one file format to another) for 4 different clients, and some clients have even 4 different types of them


2. Then in addition to that, I must do the daily on-duty for the production environment (roughly 20 incidents per day, plus answering emails regarding other things)


3. And also, I am to do maintenance for 150 separate pieces of a larger application


4. Is that it? No. I also must keep track on answering emails regarding all three above, and remembering "what goes where" on the fly

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client requirements change.

(Not really related, but interestingly I also am in the very junior level of the "ladder" at my workplace, and personally I feel the tasks I am expected to do are far above my pay grade...)

time-management task-management

share|improve this question

edited Sep 17 '13 at 5:08

jmac

19.4k763137

asked Sep 16 '13 at 9:49

Juha Untinen

1,5261018

closed as off-topic by Jim G., jcmeloni, Michael Grubey, CincinnatiProgrammer, ChrisF Sep 16 '13 at 20:36

• This question does not appear to be about the workplace within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Have you spoke to your boss about the potential overload of work?
  – Rhys
  Sep 16 '13 at 10:16
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wrote my own Excel based GTD program to handle this. PLEASE let me know if you find a good tool which does this, especially on Windows.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 11:27
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This question appears to be off-topic because it is about personal productivity, which would make it a much better candidate for Productivity.SE.
  – Jim G.
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:43
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It is not as much the amount of the work, but the number of interruptions that is the bottleneck. Can you group things together so the number of context switches you have to make is as small as possible? ALso, if you have a two hour window for a given response, it might be able to wait until the proper time for a context switch.
  – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
  Sep 16 '13 at 14:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Might I suggest some kind of ticketing system? Most of the things you talk about are good candidates for some kind of bug tracker or help desk ticketing system. That will build in a lot of the "Todo list" functionality that you're seeking, as well as handling the organization of it all.
  – Shauna
  Sep 16 '13 at 15:05
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

up vote
5
down vote

favorite

2

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do? Right now, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the things I am expected to do. Just to give an example of a week's schedule:

1. I must develop translators (from one file format to another) for 4 different clients, and some clients have even 4 different types of them


2. Then in addition to that, I must do the daily on-duty for the production environment (roughly 20 incidents per day, plus answering emails regarding other things)


3. And also, I am to do maintenance for 150 separate pieces of a larger application


4. Is that it? No. I also must keep track on answering emails regarding all three above, and remembering "what goes where" on the fly

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client requirements change.

(Not really related, but interestingly I also am in the very junior level of the "ladder" at my workplace, and personally I feel the tasks I am expected to do are far above my pay grade...)

time-management task-management

share|improve this question

edited Sep 17 '13 at 5:08

jmac

19.4k763137

asked Sep 16 '13 at 9:49

Juha Untinen

1,5261018

closed as off-topic by Jim G., jcmeloni, Michael Grubey, CincinnatiProgrammer, ChrisF Sep 16 '13 at 20:36

• This question does not appear to be about the workplace within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Have you spoke to your boss about the potential overload of work?
  – Rhys
  Sep 16 '13 at 10:16
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wrote my own Excel based GTD program to handle this. PLEASE let me know if you find a good tool which does this, especially on Windows.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 11:27
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This question appears to be off-topic because it is about personal productivity, which would make it a much better candidate for Productivity.SE.
  – Jim G.
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:43
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It is not as much the amount of the work, but the number of interruptions that is the bottleneck. Can you group things together so the number of context switches you have to make is as small as possible? ALso, if you have a two hour window for a given response, it might be able to wait until the proper time for a context switch.
  – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
  Sep 16 '13 at 14:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Might I suggest some kind of ticketing system? Most of the things you talk about are good candidates for some kind of bug tracker or help desk ticketing system. That will build in a lot of the "Todo list" functionality that you're seeking, as well as handling the organization of it all.
  – Shauna
  Sep 16 '13 at 15:05
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

up vote
5
down vote

favorite

2

up vote
5
down vote

favorite

2

2

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do? Right now, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the things I am expected to do. Just to give an example of a week's schedule:

1. I must develop translators (from one file format to another) for 4 different clients, and some clients have even 4 different types of them


2. Then in addition to that, I must do the daily on-duty for the production environment (roughly 20 incidents per day, plus answering emails regarding other things)


3. And also, I am to do maintenance for 150 separate pieces of a larger application


4. Is that it? No. I also must keep track on answering emails regarding all three above, and remembering "what goes where" on the fly

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client requirements change.

(Not really related, but interestingly I also am in the very junior level of the "ladder" at my workplace, and personally I feel the tasks I am expected to do are far above my pay grade...)

time-management task-management

share|improve this question

edited Sep 17 '13 at 5:08

jmac

19.4k763137

asked Sep 16 '13 at 9:49

Juha Untinen

1,5261018

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do? Right now, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the things I am expected to do. Just to give an example of a week's schedule:

1. I must develop translators (from one file format to another) for 4 different clients, and some clients have even 4 different types of them


2. Then in addition to that, I must do the daily on-duty for the production environment (roughly 20 incidents per day, plus answering emails regarding other things)


3. And also, I am to do maintenance for 150 separate pieces of a larger application


4. Is that it? No. I also must keep track on answering emails regarding all three above, and remembering "what goes where" on the fly

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client requirements change.

(Not really related, but interestingly I also am in the very junior level of the "ladder" at my workplace, and personally I feel the tasks I am expected to do are far above my pay grade...)

time-management task-management

share|improve this question

edited Sep 17 '13 at 5:08

jmac

19.4k763137

asked Sep 16 '13 at 9:49

Juha Untinen

1,5261018

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

edited Sep 17 '13 at 5:08

jmac

19.4k763137

edited Sep 17 '13 at 5:08

jmac

19.4k763137

edited Sep 17 '13 at 5:08

jmac

19.4k763137

19.4k763137

asked Sep 16 '13 at 9:49

Juha Untinen

1,5261018

asked Sep 16 '13 at 9:49

Juha Untinen

1,5261018

asked Sep 16 '13 at 9:49

Juha Untinen

1,5261018

1,5261018

closed as off-topic by Jim G., jcmeloni, Michael Grubey, CincinnatiProgrammer, ChrisF Sep 16 '13 at 20:36

• This question does not appear to be about the workplace within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

closed as off-topic by Jim G., jcmeloni, Michael Grubey, CincinnatiProgrammer, ChrisF Sep 16 '13 at 20:36

• This question does not appear to be about the workplace within the scope defined in the help center.

If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Have you spoke to your boss about the potential overload of work?
  – Rhys
  Sep 16 '13 at 10:16
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wrote my own Excel based GTD program to handle this. PLEASE let me know if you find a good tool which does this, especially on Windows.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 11:27
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This question appears to be off-topic because it is about personal productivity, which would make it a much better candidate for Productivity.SE.
  – Jim G.
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:43
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It is not as much the amount of the work, but the number of interruptions that is the bottleneck. Can you group things together so the number of context switches you have to make is as small as possible? ALso, if you have a two hour window for a given response, it might be able to wait until the proper time for a context switch.
  – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
  Sep 16 '13 at 14:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Might I suggest some kind of ticketing system? Most of the things you talk about are good candidates for some kind of bug tracker or help desk ticketing system. That will build in a lot of the "Todo list" functionality that you're seeking, as well as handling the organization of it all.
  – Shauna
  Sep 16 '13 at 15:05
  

  
  
  
  

 | 
show 2 more comments

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Have you spoke to your boss about the potential overload of work?
  – Rhys
  Sep 16 '13 at 10:16
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  I wrote my own Excel based GTD program to handle this. PLEASE let me know if you find a good tool which does this, especially on Windows.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 11:27
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This question appears to be off-topic because it is about personal productivity, which would make it a much better candidate for Productivity.SE.
  – Jim G.
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:43
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It is not as much the amount of the work, but the number of interruptions that is the bottleneck. Can you group things together so the number of context switches you have to make is as small as possible? ALso, if you have a two hour window for a given response, it might be able to wait until the proper time for a context switch.
  – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
  Sep 16 '13 at 14:47
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Might I suggest some kind of ticketing system? Most of the things you talk about are good candidates for some kind of bug tracker or help desk ticketing system. That will build in a lot of the "Todo list" functionality that you're seeking, as well as handling the organization of it all.
  – Shauna
  Sep 16 '13 at 15:05
  

  
  
  
  

3

3

Have you spoke to your boss about the potential overload of work?
– Rhys
Sep 16 '13 at 10:16

Have you spoke to your boss about the potential overload of work?
– Rhys
Sep 16 '13 at 10:16

1

1

I wrote my own Excel based GTD program to handle this. PLEASE let me know if you find a good tool which does this, especially on Windows.
– Elysian Fields♦
Sep 16 '13 at 11:27

I wrote my own Excel based GTD program to handle this. PLEASE let me know if you find a good tool which does this, especially on Windows.
– Elysian Fields♦
Sep 16 '13 at 11:27

3

3

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about personal productivity, which would make it a much better candidate for Productivity.SE.
– Jim G.
Sep 16 '13 at 13:43

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about personal productivity, which would make it a much better candidate for Productivity.SE.
– Jim G.
Sep 16 '13 at 13:43

It is not as much the amount of the work, but the number of interruptions that is the bottleneck. Can you group things together so the number of context switches you have to make is as small as possible? ALso, if you have a two hour window for a given response, it might be able to wait until the proper time for a context switch.
– Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
Sep 16 '13 at 14:47

It is not as much the amount of the work, but the number of interruptions that is the bottleneck. Can you group things together so the number of context switches you have to make is as small as possible? ALso, if you have a two hour window for a given response, it might be able to wait until the proper time for a context switch.
– Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
Sep 16 '13 at 14:47

Might I suggest some kind of ticketing system? Most of the things you talk about are good candidates for some kind of bug tracker or help desk ticketing system. That will build in a lot of the "Todo list" functionality that you're seeking, as well as handling the organization of it all.
– Shauna
Sep 16 '13 at 15:05

Might I suggest some kind of ticketing system? Most of the things you talk about are good candidates for some kind of bug tracker or help desk ticketing system. That will build in a lot of the "Todo list" functionality that you're seeking, as well as handling the organization of it all.
– Shauna
Sep 16 '13 at 15:05

 | 
show 2 more comments

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

up vote
11
down vote



accepted

I'm reading two things in your question - a cry for help about feeling overwhelmed, and a question about tools to help organize your work better. Let's try to answer both...

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many
simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do?

Whenever anyone feels that they have too much on their plate, I always suggest that they talk to their manager.

Confirm with her that what you see on your to-do list is really what you should be doing. Discuss with her how you feel ("far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks"), and ask for her help and guidance.

One task managers own is to help ensure success for members of their team. You may need to have some items removed from your list and given to someone else, you may need help with your list, or you may need training to be capable of handling your list in a timely manner. It's also possible that you are mistaken about the relative priorities of the items on your list.

You manager can help clarify this with you.

I always try to be very open with my team, so that they feel comfortable coming to me with this sort of allocation/prioritization questions. We are in this together, they don't always need to tackle such issues alone. Sometimes the solution is that they just need to work a bit harder or longer (virtually always this is just temporary). Sometimes they just need to talk it through. Sometimes they need help in other ways.

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a
GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with
everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details
related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder
pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the
details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client
requirements change.

I also have a lot of rapidly-changing tasks assigned to me. I tend to use MS-Word, MS-Excel, and lots of MS-Outlook in helping me manage my to-do list.

I tend to schedule lots of "Appointments" with myself to carve out time for tasks (which gives me pop-up reminders 15 minutes before the task is due to start). And I send my self email "Reminders" of the details of all to-do tasks.

Each morning, I read emails from the night before, and move them to folders as needed - leaving only the "to be done" items in my Inbox. I prioritize the day's tasks, organize my notes, and tackle my "Appointments" as the day goes on.

By the end of the day, I have hopefully cleaned out my inbox, and thus completed the day's tasks. If not, I make more "Appointments" for the next day.

This works for me. You might give it a try.

There are also many "Getting Things Done / Time Management" classes out there, although selecting among them is a highly personal choice.

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This is a great answer. One thing I also do which makes a HUGE difference is having a category I apply called Waiting-For - I apply this every time I will want to check up on a response to an email I send. Once a day I'll check this and see if there are any I need to follow up on and if not, I don't worry or wonder about it - this relieves a LOT of stress.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:45
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
5
down vote

I think with such a diverse schedule with very distinctive tasks, I would try and compartmentalise your tasks as much as possible. Especially for the development task 1, you need to have a few uninterrupted hours of time to be able to be productive. Constantly having to switch from development to answering an e-mail is devastating for productivity. In this case, I would plan time throughout the week that you devote to development, say at least half a day. During that time you only do that, and I would recommend turning off your e-mail.

This kind of compartmentalisation can also be done for your other tasks. For example, plan, say, three times per day that you check if there are any incidents. This is of course under the assumption that you will not have to respond within a minute to certain issues. But in general, organising your work like this makes you feel more in control, and less that e-mail and issues totally dominate what you are doing at any given time.

If you get flak for trying to organise your work (you should respond right now!!!), I would try and explain to people that this is needed for you to work effectively. I would talk your problems over with your manager, and try to come up with a solution. This includes how fast you are expected to respond to a given issue.

As a task management tool, I really like Trello. It has several layers of hierarchy, allowing you to divide tasks up into smaller sub-tasks.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

A true GTD approach would require you to trash a lot of the stuff that lands in your inbox, immediately. The problems you're describing are likely not addressable with any kind of app or tool unless there is FIRST a very human attempt to properly set expectations.

Consider dividing your work into two categories:

1) Developmental work -- where you plan out a relatively firm schedule to finish some project in a reasonably predictable timeframe.

2) Sustaining work -- where you respond to random incidents as they come with consideration to the severity of the problem.

The problem is that you have some deliverables that need to be completed but you also have support issues that you're expected to respond to. If you focus too much on one, the other suffers. To make your work predictable you have to carve out a fixed time for the developmental work and a fixed time to handle support incidents, and don't let one take the time of the other unless you have a truly grave issue that requires you to "drop everything" and focus only on it.

The hard part is that you'll need to communicate to your stake-holders that they can't expect an immediate response to their support requests. In other words, they need to learn to "wait in line" like they do for many other things in life. For our work, a ticket-based support system is helpful not only because it allows you triage the support requests but also because it provides documentation on how much support work there actually is and how long it takes to resolve. This documentation can be the basis for making sound, data-driven decisions on how to allocate resources in the future.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

add a comment | 

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

3 Answers
3

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

up vote
11
down vote



accepted

I'm reading two things in your question - a cry for help about feeling overwhelmed, and a question about tools to help organize your work better. Let's try to answer both...

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many
simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do?

Whenever anyone feels that they have too much on their plate, I always suggest that they talk to their manager.

Confirm with her that what you see on your to-do list is really what you should be doing. Discuss with her how you feel ("far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks"), and ask for her help and guidance.

One task managers own is to help ensure success for members of their team. You may need to have some items removed from your list and given to someone else, you may need help with your list, or you may need training to be capable of handling your list in a timely manner. It's also possible that you are mistaken about the relative priorities of the items on your list.

You manager can help clarify this with you.

I always try to be very open with my team, so that they feel comfortable coming to me with this sort of allocation/prioritization questions. We are in this together, they don't always need to tackle such issues alone. Sometimes the solution is that they just need to work a bit harder or longer (virtually always this is just temporary). Sometimes they just need to talk it through. Sometimes they need help in other ways.

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a
GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with
everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details
related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder
pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the
details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client
requirements change.

I also have a lot of rapidly-changing tasks assigned to me. I tend to use MS-Word, MS-Excel, and lots of MS-Outlook in helping me manage my to-do list.

I tend to schedule lots of "Appointments" with myself to carve out time for tasks (which gives me pop-up reminders 15 minutes before the task is due to start). And I send my self email "Reminders" of the details of all to-do tasks.

Each morning, I read emails from the night before, and move them to folders as needed - leaving only the "to be done" items in my Inbox. I prioritize the day's tasks, organize my notes, and tackle my "Appointments" as the day goes on.

By the end of the day, I have hopefully cleaned out my inbox, and thus completed the day's tasks. If not, I make more "Appointments" for the next day.

This works for me. You might give it a try.

There are also many "Getting Things Done / Time Management" classes out there, although selecting among them is a highly personal choice.

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This is a great answer. One thing I also do which makes a HUGE difference is having a category I apply called Waiting-For - I apply this every time I will want to check up on a response to an email I send. Once a day I'll check this and see if there are any I need to follow up on and if not, I don't worry or wonder about it - this relieves a LOT of stress.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:45
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
11
down vote



accepted

I'm reading two things in your question - a cry for help about feeling overwhelmed, and a question about tools to help organize your work better. Let's try to answer both...

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many
simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do?

Whenever anyone feels that they have too much on their plate, I always suggest that they talk to their manager.

Confirm with her that what you see on your to-do list is really what you should be doing. Discuss with her how you feel ("far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks"), and ask for her help and guidance.

One task managers own is to help ensure success for members of their team. You may need to have some items removed from your list and given to someone else, you may need help with your list, or you may need training to be capable of handling your list in a timely manner. It's also possible that you are mistaken about the relative priorities of the items on your list.

You manager can help clarify this with you.

I always try to be very open with my team, so that they feel comfortable coming to me with this sort of allocation/prioritization questions. We are in this together, they don't always need to tackle such issues alone. Sometimes the solution is that they just need to work a bit harder or longer (virtually always this is just temporary). Sometimes they just need to talk it through. Sometimes they need help in other ways.

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a
GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with
everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details
related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder
pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the
details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client
requirements change.

I also have a lot of rapidly-changing tasks assigned to me. I tend to use MS-Word, MS-Excel, and lots of MS-Outlook in helping me manage my to-do list.

I tend to schedule lots of "Appointments" with myself to carve out time for tasks (which gives me pop-up reminders 15 minutes before the task is due to start). And I send my self email "Reminders" of the details of all to-do tasks.

Each morning, I read emails from the night before, and move them to folders as needed - leaving only the "to be done" items in my Inbox. I prioritize the day's tasks, organize my notes, and tackle my "Appointments" as the day goes on.

By the end of the day, I have hopefully cleaned out my inbox, and thus completed the day's tasks. If not, I make more "Appointments" for the next day.

This works for me. You might give it a try.

There are also many "Getting Things Done / Time Management" classes out there, although selecting among them is a highly personal choice.

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This is a great answer. One thing I also do which makes a HUGE difference is having a category I apply called Waiting-For - I apply this every time I will want to check up on a response to an email I send. Once a day I'll check this and see if there are any I need to follow up on and if not, I don't worry or wonder about it - this relieves a LOT of stress.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:45
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
11
down vote



accepted

up vote
11
down vote



accepted

I'm reading two things in your question - a cry for help about feeling overwhelmed, and a question about tools to help organize your work better. Let's try to answer both...

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many
simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do?

Whenever anyone feels that they have too much on their plate, I always suggest that they talk to their manager.

Confirm with her that what you see on your to-do list is really what you should be doing. Discuss with her how you feel ("far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks"), and ask for her help and guidance.

One task managers own is to help ensure success for members of their team. You may need to have some items removed from your list and given to someone else, you may need help with your list, or you may need training to be capable of handling your list in a timely manner. It's also possible that you are mistaken about the relative priorities of the items on your list.

You manager can help clarify this with you.

I always try to be very open with my team, so that they feel comfortable coming to me with this sort of allocation/prioritization questions. We are in this together, they don't always need to tackle such issues alone. Sometimes the solution is that they just need to work a bit harder or longer (virtually always this is just temporary). Sometimes they just need to talk it through. Sometimes they need help in other ways.

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a
GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with
everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details
related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder
pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the
details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client
requirements change.

I also have a lot of rapidly-changing tasks assigned to me. I tend to use MS-Word, MS-Excel, and lots of MS-Outlook in helping me manage my to-do list.

I tend to schedule lots of "Appointments" with myself to carve out time for tasks (which gives me pop-up reminders 15 minutes before the task is due to start). And I send my self email "Reminders" of the details of all to-do tasks.

Each morning, I read emails from the night before, and move them to folders as needed - leaving only the "to be done" items in my Inbox. I prioritize the day's tasks, organize my notes, and tackle my "Appointments" as the day goes on.

By the end of the day, I have hopefully cleaned out my inbox, and thus completed the day's tasks. If not, I make more "Appointments" for the next day.

This works for me. You might give it a try.

There are also many "Getting Things Done / Time Management" classes out there, although selecting among them is a highly personal choice.

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

I'm reading two things in your question - a cry for help about feeling overwhelmed, and a question about tools to help organize your work better. Let's try to answer both...

How should one go about doing their work, when there are far too many
simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks to do?

Whenever anyone feels that they have too much on their plate, I always suggest that they talk to their manager.

Confirm with her that what you see on your to-do list is really what you should be doing. Discuss with her how you feel ("far too many simultaneous and non-related ongoing tasks"), and ask for her help and guidance.

One task managers own is to help ensure success for members of their team. You may need to have some items removed from your list and given to someone else, you may need help with your list, or you may need training to be capable of handling your list in a timely manner. It's also possible that you are mistaken about the relative priorities of the items on your list.

You manager can help clarify this with you.

I always try to be very open with my team, so that they feel comfortable coming to me with this sort of allocation/prioritization questions. We are in this together, they don't always need to tackle such issues alone. Sometimes the solution is that they just need to work a bit harder or longer (virtually always this is just temporary). Sometimes they just need to talk it through. Sometimes they need help in other ways.

How would you go about remembering all of this? I am currently using a
GTD program, but I feel it is not enough to stay on track with
everything. I still forget to answer questions about some details
related to one of the items in the list above.

Is there a good program for handling all this? Some sort of reminder
pop-up perhaps? It should also be quick to update and edit, as the
details change on the fly almost all the time, as the client
requirements change.

I also have a lot of rapidly-changing tasks assigned to me. I tend to use MS-Word, MS-Excel, and lots of MS-Outlook in helping me manage my to-do list.

I tend to schedule lots of "Appointments" with myself to carve out time for tasks (which gives me pop-up reminders 15 minutes before the task is due to start). And I send my self email "Reminders" of the details of all to-do tasks.

Each morning, I read emails from the night before, and move them to folders as needed - leaving only the "to be done" items in my Inbox. I prioritize the day's tasks, organize my notes, and tackle my "Appointments" as the day goes on.

By the end of the day, I have hopefully cleaned out my inbox, and thus completed the day's tasks. If not, I make more "Appointments" for the next day.

This works for me. You might give it a try.

There are also many "Getting Things Done / Time Management" classes out there, although selecting among them is a highly personal choice.

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

edited Nov 8 '13 at 20:39

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

answered Sep 16 '13 at 11:44

Joe Strazzere

224k107661930

224k107661930

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This is a great answer. One thing I also do which makes a HUGE difference is having a category I apply called Waiting-For - I apply this every time I will want to check up on a response to an email I send. Once a day I'll check this and see if there are any I need to follow up on and if not, I don't worry or wonder about it - this relieves a LOT of stress.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:45
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  3
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  This is a great answer. One thing I also do which makes a HUGE difference is having a category I apply called Waiting-For - I apply this every time I will want to check up on a response to an email I send. Once a day I'll check this and see if there are any I need to follow up on and if not, I don't worry or wonder about it - this relieves a LOT of stress.
  – Elysian Fields♦
  Sep 16 '13 at 13:45
  

  
  
  
  

3

3

This is a great answer. One thing I also do which makes a HUGE difference is having a category I apply called Waiting-For - I apply this every time I will want to check up on a response to an email I send. Once a day I'll check this and see if there are any I need to follow up on and if not, I don't worry or wonder about it - this relieves a LOT of stress.
– Elysian Fields♦
Sep 16 '13 at 13:45

This is a great answer. One thing I also do which makes a HUGE difference is having a category I apply called Waiting-For - I apply this every time I will want to check up on a response to an email I send. Once a day I'll check this and see if there are any I need to follow up on and if not, I don't worry or wonder about it - this relieves a LOT of stress.
– Elysian Fields♦
Sep 16 '13 at 13:45

add a comment | 

up vote
5
down vote

I think with such a diverse schedule with very distinctive tasks, I would try and compartmentalise your tasks as much as possible. Especially for the development task 1, you need to have a few uninterrupted hours of time to be able to be productive. Constantly having to switch from development to answering an e-mail is devastating for productivity. In this case, I would plan time throughout the week that you devote to development, say at least half a day. During that time you only do that, and I would recommend turning off your e-mail.

This kind of compartmentalisation can also be done for your other tasks. For example, plan, say, three times per day that you check if there are any incidents. This is of course under the assumption that you will not have to respond within a minute to certain issues. But in general, organising your work like this makes you feel more in control, and less that e-mail and issues totally dominate what you are doing at any given time.

If you get flak for trying to organise your work (you should respond right now!!!), I would try and explain to people that this is needed for you to work effectively. I would talk your problems over with your manager, and try to come up with a solution. This includes how fast you are expected to respond to a given issue.

As a task management tool, I really like Trello. It has several layers of hierarchy, allowing you to divide tasks up into smaller sub-tasks.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

add a comment | 

up vote
5
down vote

I think with such a diverse schedule with very distinctive tasks, I would try and compartmentalise your tasks as much as possible. Especially for the development task 1, you need to have a few uninterrupted hours of time to be able to be productive. Constantly having to switch from development to answering an e-mail is devastating for productivity. In this case, I would plan time throughout the week that you devote to development, say at least half a day. During that time you only do that, and I would recommend turning off your e-mail.

This kind of compartmentalisation can also be done for your other tasks. For example, plan, say, three times per day that you check if there are any incidents. This is of course under the assumption that you will not have to respond within a minute to certain issues. But in general, organising your work like this makes you feel more in control, and less that e-mail and issues totally dominate what you are doing at any given time.

If you get flak for trying to organise your work (you should respond right now!!!), I would try and explain to people that this is needed for you to work effectively. I would talk your problems over with your manager, and try to come up with a solution. This includes how fast you are expected to respond to a given issue.

As a task management tool, I really like Trello. It has several layers of hierarchy, allowing you to divide tasks up into smaller sub-tasks.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

add a comment | 

up vote
5
down vote

up vote
5
down vote

I think with such a diverse schedule with very distinctive tasks, I would try and compartmentalise your tasks as much as possible. Especially for the development task 1, you need to have a few uninterrupted hours of time to be able to be productive. Constantly having to switch from development to answering an e-mail is devastating for productivity. In this case, I would plan time throughout the week that you devote to development, say at least half a day. During that time you only do that, and I would recommend turning off your e-mail.

This kind of compartmentalisation can also be done for your other tasks. For example, plan, say, three times per day that you check if there are any incidents. This is of course under the assumption that you will not have to respond within a minute to certain issues. But in general, organising your work like this makes you feel more in control, and less that e-mail and issues totally dominate what you are doing at any given time.

If you get flak for trying to organise your work (you should respond right now!!!), I would try and explain to people that this is needed for you to work effectively. I would talk your problems over with your manager, and try to come up with a solution. This includes how fast you are expected to respond to a given issue.

As a task management tool, I really like Trello. It has several layers of hierarchy, allowing you to divide tasks up into smaller sub-tasks.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

I think with such a diverse schedule with very distinctive tasks, I would try and compartmentalise your tasks as much as possible. Especially for the development task 1, you need to have a few uninterrupted hours of time to be able to be productive. Constantly having to switch from development to answering an e-mail is devastating for productivity. In this case, I would plan time throughout the week that you devote to development, say at least half a day. During that time you only do that, and I would recommend turning off your e-mail.

This kind of compartmentalisation can also be done for your other tasks. For example, plan, say, three times per day that you check if there are any incidents. This is of course under the assumption that you will not have to respond within a minute to certain issues. But in general, organising your work like this makes you feel more in control, and less that e-mail and issues totally dominate what you are doing at any given time.

If you get flak for trying to organise your work (you should respond right now!!!), I would try and explain to people that this is needed for you to work effectively. I would talk your problems over with your manager, and try to come up with a solution. This includes how fast you are expected to respond to a given issue.

As a task management tool, I really like Trello. It has several layers of hierarchy, allowing you to divide tasks up into smaller sub-tasks.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

answered Sep 16 '13 at 10:27

Paul Hiemstra

3,8451621

3,8451621

add a comment | 

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

A true GTD approach would require you to trash a lot of the stuff that lands in your inbox, immediately. The problems you're describing are likely not addressable with any kind of app or tool unless there is FIRST a very human attempt to properly set expectations.

Consider dividing your work into two categories:

1) Developmental work -- where you plan out a relatively firm schedule to finish some project in a reasonably predictable timeframe.

2) Sustaining work -- where you respond to random incidents as they come with consideration to the severity of the problem.

The problem is that you have some deliverables that need to be completed but you also have support issues that you're expected to respond to. If you focus too much on one, the other suffers. To make your work predictable you have to carve out a fixed time for the developmental work and a fixed time to handle support incidents, and don't let one take the time of the other unless you have a truly grave issue that requires you to "drop everything" and focus only on it.

The hard part is that you'll need to communicate to your stake-holders that they can't expect an immediate response to their support requests. In other words, they need to learn to "wait in line" like they do for many other things in life. For our work, a ticket-based support system is helpful not only because it allows you triage the support requests but also because it provides documentation on how much support work there actually is and how long it takes to resolve. This documentation can be the basis for making sound, data-driven decisions on how to allocate resources in the future.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

A true GTD approach would require you to trash a lot of the stuff that lands in your inbox, immediately. The problems you're describing are likely not addressable with any kind of app or tool unless there is FIRST a very human attempt to properly set expectations.

Consider dividing your work into two categories:

1) Developmental work -- where you plan out a relatively firm schedule to finish some project in a reasonably predictable timeframe.

2) Sustaining work -- where you respond to random incidents as they come with consideration to the severity of the problem.

The problem is that you have some deliverables that need to be completed but you also have support issues that you're expected to respond to. If you focus too much on one, the other suffers. To make your work predictable you have to carve out a fixed time for the developmental work and a fixed time to handle support incidents, and don't let one take the time of the other unless you have a truly grave issue that requires you to "drop everything" and focus only on it.

The hard part is that you'll need to communicate to your stake-holders that they can't expect an immediate response to their support requests. In other words, they need to learn to "wait in line" like they do for many other things in life. For our work, a ticket-based support system is helpful not only because it allows you triage the support requests but also because it provides documentation on how much support work there actually is and how long it takes to resolve. This documentation can be the basis for making sound, data-driven decisions on how to allocate resources in the future.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

up vote
3
down vote

A true GTD approach would require you to trash a lot of the stuff that lands in your inbox, immediately. The problems you're describing are likely not addressable with any kind of app or tool unless there is FIRST a very human attempt to properly set expectations.

Consider dividing your work into two categories:

1) Developmental work -- where you plan out a relatively firm schedule to finish some project in a reasonably predictable timeframe.

2) Sustaining work -- where you respond to random incidents as they come with consideration to the severity of the problem.

The problem is that you have some deliverables that need to be completed but you also have support issues that you're expected to respond to. If you focus too much on one, the other suffers. To make your work predictable you have to carve out a fixed time for the developmental work and a fixed time to handle support incidents, and don't let one take the time of the other unless you have a truly grave issue that requires you to "drop everything" and focus only on it.

The hard part is that you'll need to communicate to your stake-holders that they can't expect an immediate response to their support requests. In other words, they need to learn to "wait in line" like they do for many other things in life. For our work, a ticket-based support system is helpful not only because it allows you triage the support requests but also because it provides documentation on how much support work there actually is and how long it takes to resolve. This documentation can be the basis for making sound, data-driven decisions on how to allocate resources in the future.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

A true GTD approach would require you to trash a lot of the stuff that lands in your inbox, immediately. The problems you're describing are likely not addressable with any kind of app or tool unless there is FIRST a very human attempt to properly set expectations.

Consider dividing your work into two categories:

1) Developmental work -- where you plan out a relatively firm schedule to finish some project in a reasonably predictable timeframe.

2) Sustaining work -- where you respond to random incidents as they come with consideration to the severity of the problem.

The problem is that you have some deliverables that need to be completed but you also have support issues that you're expected to respond to. If you focus too much on one, the other suffers. To make your work predictable you have to carve out a fixed time for the developmental work and a fixed time to handle support incidents, and don't let one take the time of the other unless you have a truly grave issue that requires you to "drop everything" and focus only on it.

The hard part is that you'll need to communicate to your stake-holders that they can't expect an immediate response to their support requests. In other words, they need to learn to "wait in line" like they do for many other things in life. For our work, a ticket-based support system is helpful not only because it allows you triage the support requests but also because it provides documentation on how much support work there actually is and how long it takes to resolve. This documentation can be the basis for making sound, data-driven decisions on how to allocate resources in the future.

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

answered Sep 16 '13 at 13:16

Angelo

6,15621631

6,15621631

add a comment | 

add a comment |