Do you ever feel like a crazy lunatic as you try to accomplish way too many things at once? Of course, you have! Not only do you experience this, but everyone has a different “lunatic pace.” Your threshold may have more or less elasticity than someone you work with closely.
I’ve found that people pick up their pace when they are working with someone who zooms through the day, even though it may be hard to keep up. These are critical moments, because when you constantly try to pace yourself at what is an unnaturally rapid clip for you, you will inevitably miss things.
Learn what your threshold is and try not to deviate to the upside all the time. Not only will things slip, but you’ll become more anxious about keeping up.
How do you recalibrate? You can do so by tuning into your natural rhythm. Do you tend to manage fewer things concurrently? Or are you comfortable with dozens of things swirling around you?
Everyone has their natural pattern, yet we also have a pace that the job demands. You might personally be more comfortable doing fewer things at once, but the job requires more agility in jumping from one thing to another.
If this is your situation, yes, you will need to adapt to keep up. But if you do this constantly, you will burn out and become unproductive.
One way to handle this is to take a short pause every few hours to catch up with yourself. During this time, finish something that takes little time to complete. It doesn’t matter what it is; you’ll feel better simply by completing something. And this will reboot your energy for the next few hours.
Leaders need to be mindful not just of their own ability to pace effectively, but to know when team members are out of sync with their pace. Learn what works best in your environment and help the team adjust accordingly.
Header image is by Pixabay on Pexels.
