Only in the last year have I learned this lesson about growing up. I’ve always been very precise and very dependable. I know what I’m talking about and I do what I say I’m going to do.
People think of me this way, and I know that. It’s how I think of myself too.
But, in the last two years, I have completely fallen apart. I have made mistakes and missed deadlines. I’ve put things off way too long and forgotten to return emails. Basically, I’ve fallen short in a lot of ways.
It’s not that I’ve changed. It’s that I have about a million more responsibilities than I ever have before! And, I can’t always keep up with everything. I realized this about myself a while ago, but it seemed to take a while for it to get bad enough for anyone else to notice.
I go back and forth, because most of the time I feel anxious about this and really uncomfortable with the idea of people thinking of me as anything less than sharp and very dependable. And other times, as immodest as it sounds, I realize that me overworked is still more on top of things than a lot of people and maybe I should stop being so hard on myself.
Ah, but who am I kidding? I keep making lists and trying to figure it all out, all while committing myself to more and more things. And, maybe this is 98% in my own head, but it still bugs the crap out of me that I can’t do it all.
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You know it’s funny that, once again, we both feel the same way because I’ve definitely noticed something like this going on with me too. I do think you’re being a little bit hard on yourself, because I am sure you’re more on top of things than most (if not all) people and we’re all not perfect, and sometimes we forget things and we need extensions for deadlines, etc. etc. But you just do your best and you do what you can, because that’s all you can do.
So, the moral of the story is don’t worry about it too much.
I know how you feel, chica, and I think a part of it all is realizing that you need to let some of the responsibility go or hand it to someone else to take care of. Granted, I know some of the time, this isn’t possible. But if you’re overworked and stressed and forgetting things, take a look at what’s on your plate and get rid of some of it if you can. It’ll make you feel less stressed, if nothing else.
Yeah, try not to be too hard on yourself. It is so easy to get caught up in the negative. Deep breaths!
It has seemed so easy to become overwhelmed lately. I’m working on taking a step back and making sure I do what’s most important first.
I put myself in a catch-22 all the time. I overload myself and then start becoming less dependable to one or more commitments, but then when I’m “under loaded” I get bored and slack off. I work best under pressure. I’m still trying to find a balance where I’m neither overloaded nor underloaded!
As long as you’re prioritizing what you allow to slip, and not allowing the big important things to fall to the side, it’s okay to let things slide now and then.