How to make progress when everything feels hard
It’s hard to believe that we’re about to enter year 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the omicron surge and most universities sticking with in-person work and teaching, you might be feeling like you’re at a point where everything just feels like… a lot.
If you’re struggling to make progress or if things are feeling really hard right now, know that you’re not alone. It can be really challenging to try and continue pushing forward when things feel hard. Productivity culture tells us that we need to “grind” all the time and that rest is for the lazy.
Hopefully it goes without saying, but I do not subscribe to that philosophy. When things are hard, pushing harder and doing the same old things is a great way to burn yourself out.
The good news is that there are still ways that you can make progress when things feel hard. I’ve outlined a few strategies you can try below.
Re-assess your self-care - I know, I know. Self-care has become such a cliche topic at this point, but it really is so incredibly important. Go back to the basics with how and when you’re caring for yourself. Are you getting enough sleep? Drinking enough water? Eating enough? Moving around in a way that feels good for you? Think about the strategies that you use to manage stress, are you still using those? Or are there some things that have fallen by the wayside? Think about what might help you reduce some overwhelm and take care of yourself during this challenging period.
Pull back, like way back - If things are feeling hard or you feel like you might be approaching burnout, the first thing to do is to pull way, way back on the things you’re working on. What are the things that absolutely need to get done? What things had immediate deadlines or needs? What’s non-negotiable? Make a list of everything on your plate that absolutely has to get done, in both your work life and personal life. Try to be as strict as possible with what goes on that list. If there are any projects or tasks that have some flexibility or could wait until next month/semester/year, consider putting that on the back burner for now. You might be thinking, “Wait, how is pulling back going to help me make progress?” Although it might seem like the opposite of making progress, pulling back will allow you to have the space to make progress on the things that absolutely need to get done. It will also let you create the space you need to work on those other tasks and projects in a way that reduces your overwhelm.
Re-define progress - Another helpful thing to try when you’re feeling overwhelmed is to re-define what progress looks like. I don’t know about you, but I often have lofty ideas in my head about how beautifully written and produced a project will be when I’m done with it. That lofty image… doesn’t really match with the reality of working on something in progress, and sometimes that holds me back. If you’ve ever thought something like “If I can’t write the perfect sentence now, then I should just stop writing. It shouldn’t need to be edited later.” then you know what I’m talking about. Don’t let perfectionism and your ideas about the end product hold you back from making progress. Re-define what progress looks like, which in this example could be shifting from something like “write 1 perfect page” to “write a paragraph, no matter how messy.”
Break down projects into tasks - A great way to feel overwhelmed and unable to make progress on something is to mistake projects for tasks. Putting a project on your to-do list as if it’s a task, like putting “write dissertation” on your to-do list, is a recipe for stress and overwhelm. Take those large projects and break them down into smaller tasks, perhaps even smaller than you might during less overwhelming times. For example, instead of “write dissertation” you might put “read one article” on your list, or “download and print two PDFs to read.” Realllllly break it down into as small of tasks as you can.
Triage and prioritize - If you’ve culled your priority project list and re-defined what progress looks like, now is the time to prioritize. There are a lot of different prioritization methods that you can use here, both on a broader scale timeline and day-to-day based on where your energy is at. One of the best prioritization methods to use when everything feels hard is to think about how much stress it will relieve to check that task off of your list. Prioritizing completing or working on the things that are causing you the most stress can be a great way to reduce overwhelm.
Be kind to yourself - Now is not the time to beat yourself up for having a hard time. Really, it’s never the time for that, but especially not now. If you’re struggling to get things done and it seems like everyone else is coping just fine, try to avoid comparing yourself or engaging in negative self-talk. It’s just going to make you feel worse, I promise. Be gentle with yourself and know that any progress you can make - even if it’s just making sure you’re sleeping and eating - is still progress.
