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Too much I want/need to do...How do I tackle this?

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  • Too much I want/need to do...How do I tackle this?

    Ok, here's my problem...usually I'd be able to handle something like this through techniques I've picked up over the years.

    However, in this situation I feel overwhelmed. I have so much I want/need to do I don't know where to start -- so unfortunately I don't.

    I am "behind" on skills from a technology standpoint, so I have to do some learning there. I'm not really in a position to get company-paid training, and I found some courses through a site where I can learn myself, but just one of the courses is 36 hours. And I sometimes have a short attention span. Add to that some other skills that are beneficial for me to learn, and that I probably need to learn for my career, and we're talking probably 60 or 70 hours there, just for that.

    I've got a couple of apps I want to write, too. I'm in the middle of one, and I have two or three others I want to write, all of which I think I could make money on.

    I also have some song writing/recording I want to do. And a few other things. I'd like to learn how to paint. I'd like to work on a couple of more card sleights. Get better at guitar. Those are more hobbies, though. Except the guitar would help with the songwriting/recording. Putting together one song (since I would be doing all the instruments myself) can take a few hours in and of itself.

    Oh, and I also am considering starting a side business. Or at least, as previously mentioned, selling some apps.

    I know what I should start with (the skills), but then I feel like I won't be able to do anything else. And I won't feel productive enough if I just do each of them in tiny bits. Working on things in tiny bits works well in my career (programming), but there are some things where I feel like I need to get skilled up quickly.

    Even if I pick one (say, the tech) and work on it, that's still putting everything else "on hold" until that's done.

    I've also got some things around the house I need to do. Yard work, clean/straighten the garage, normal things like that. Like I said, if this was a bunch of smaller, quick tasks, I could come up with a solution myself. But these are much longer (in terms of hours) tasks.

    Thoughts??
    Last edited by mjr; 06-14-2020, 07:40 PM.
    Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

  • #2
    Where you really need to start is with a time management course. However, there is an inherent problem with that also.

    Whenever I have a big project (feeling overwhelmed), I start breaking it down in small pieces. Start blocking out time on your calendar for the skills course. Block out time for the app development and your music. Which should get what priority? What should be a reward for completing the other tasks.

    Remember, while procrastination will solve your problems, it may not give you the results you want.
    Life is too short to not eat popcorn.
    Save the Ales!
    Toys for Tots at Rooster's Cafe

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    • #3
      Quoth csquared View Post
      Where you really need to start is with a time management course. However, there is an inherent problem with that also.

      Whenever I have a big project (feeling overwhelmed), I start breaking it down in small pieces. Start blocking out time on your calendar for the skills course. Block out time for the app development and your music. Which should get what priority? What should be a reward for completing the other tasks.

      Remember, while procrastination will solve your problems, it may not give you the results you want.
      I can definitely break the tech stuff down into small pieces. It's a course on the site Udemy. So it's broken down into "modules". So doing an hour a day there might not be so bad.

      It's a lot of stuff, I know, but a lot of the "need to do" stuff is not only for my career, but to prepare for my family's future as well.

      I'll see if I can give that a shot and see what happens. I have to fight my short attention span, too.
      Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

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      • #4
        Yea, I was going to suggest making a schedule. I would start with prioritizing the list you have. What's the MOST important thing on it, TO YOU? And so on, until you've got it all ranked. Now for the scheduling part- set aside one to two hours a day, preferably at the same time every day, and have a rotating schedule of WHAT you work on each day. One day might be the job skill related stuff, the next day you might work on household chores, then the day after that, do app development, and the fourth day is for musical stuff. Once you get your schedule worked out, then stick to it! That's actually going to be the hardest part- establishing a new routine. But if you can stick with it for a couple of months, you'll start to see lots of progress on all of your projects.
        You're only delaying the inevitable, you run at your own expense. The repo man gets paid to chase you. ~Argabarga

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