Where to start when things pile up

“It’s cornflakes at work right now”

Currently I’m feeling the weight of many projects pile up. Between uni, work commitments, family projects (helping my sister prepare for a wedding) and much more, it’s definitely a cornflake period (by that I mean full of crunches).

I’m often reminded of stoic philosophy when I feel like I have alot of things to do - that is you should only be concerned about those things you have some degree of control over, and most things are out of your control.

The venn diagram of control

A way that can help illustrate what you do/don’t have a say in is by listing out all the tasks, decisions and happenings in your life. These can then (in a very coarse-grained way) be separated into ‘in your control’, ‘out of your control’ and a bit of both.

To misquote Shakespeare, therein lies the rub; there are things that you both can and cannot control. This could be planning an event outside, where inclement weather can be known at best a little in advance.

Stay at the helm

The main thing to know is that you always have a say with what you do in this moment. There are millions of moments, and they each fall neatly after the one that has just passed - so stay the course. Knowing that you are still at the helm is a powerful mentality.