Overcommitment Problem

[Alethiometry]

I'm pretty new here, but I greatly enjoy the things I read on this forum and decided it would be a good idea for me to ask for some advice regarding my trouble from some rational people before I go elsewhere.

Here's the problem: All the activities I participate in leave me with a (seemingly) overwhelming amount of work to do and places to be. This in turn causes me to be lethargic, generally depressed, and overly anxious at times. But sometimes I feel like I'm the hero in the story of my own life and that I'll come out of this better than I came in.

A quick breakdown of what I'm doing:

Undergrad 3rd year chem major: both time-consuming and difficult classes, none of which I can drop if I want to graduate on time. Pchem is particularly frustrating b/c my teacher is new and gives ridiculously hard homework.

Research @ enology lab: pretty time consuming but not difficult. I can't quit doing this because it's required for one of my classes. The lab director is one of the most brilliant, enthusiastic people to work with so I don't mind it so much.

Work at the library: I get paid very well, can't quit doing this because it pays the bills. Most of the time that I'm there I get to study.

Fencing club president: I love this sport but hate the bureaucratic nonsense that comes with being the head of an organization that is controlled by both the university and USFA (U.S. Fencing Association). I chose to do this because I wanted to and because I knew I could do a better job than anyone else there running the club. I'd feel like a real loser if I quit this.

I think that everyone has a breaking point in terms of how much they can handle at once. Maybe I'm close to or have already reached that point. I'd appreciate some advice on...a) if there's some way I can manage my time more efficiently, if there's a good "surviving pchem" book out you might know about, c) what to do about the fact that all this is fairly overwhelming to me. It seems like something has to change, either in what I'm committing myself to or how I think about it. Things are piling up and my workload for my classes is getting progressively heavier. I *should* know what to do, but I'm pretty new to Objectivism so my limited knowledge and frustration over my situation have impeded my ability to think through this rationally. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[hunterrose]

Welcome

c) what to do about the fact that all this is fairly overwhelming to me.

This is probably the easiest to answer. While having some feelings of depression might be a warning sign, you seem to have a pretty good idea about what you want, and what it takes. I would say the dividing line on when you're overworking is (at the least) when your gains are diminishing as a result of the overworking.

I noticed you say "I can't quit x, y, z" a lot. It would be better to say (and realize?) that you can indeed quit, but you feel the advantages of pushing so hard outweigh the detriments. More specifically, if your results start to decrease (not necessarily going to happen,) you should consider whether it'd be better to get the desired results albeit slower, or make the desired time limit albeit with less achievement.

Fencing? Now that's cool

Incidentally, what's your name refer to? Not having heard of it, I googled it, but didn't get much back other than some fiction references.

[Felix]

But sometimes I feel like I'm the hero in the story of my own life and that I'll come out of this better than I came in.

This is why you do it. When exactly do you feel like this?

Maybe your depression comes from leaving out something else in your life.

I think depression doesn't come from a big workload, but because of something you want in your life but don't have. And you feel overwhelmed because you don't have the time to do it.

I would advise to clearly identify this and try to see where it might fit and rearrange your priorities.(This is just a guess, I don't want to talk you into feeling like you lack something in life)

About time management:

The one major thing I have learned in this area is the pareto-priciple: 80% of the results come from 20% of the work done.

To reduce your total workload, try to delegate some of the annoying buerocracy-stuff to someone else. You said you don't like it, so give the work to someone else. You still make the decisions, but find someone to do the paperwork. Do the 20% here.

And:

Find someone to help you in pchem. Ask students in later semesters for guidance. They already did it and can often give useful advice.

That's all the help I have for now.

Btw. Welcome to the forum.

[Alethiometry]

Thanks for the advice guys!

The greek word for truth is alethia. The suffix metry means "the measure of", so my username means "the measure of or study of truth." (I really hope you didn't need me to tell you what the suffix metry means).

To address the issue of leaving something out: I know I've left something out of the way I live my life currently. Before I was a chem major, I was a double major in art and chemistry. It took me some time to realize that the art department was philosophically bankrupt and that I would learn nothing there, so I left. I've always intended to return to art school sometime after I get my PhD, but I miss having the time and energy to create art sort of frequently. For now I have to put that part of me "on hold"

Since I realize this, hopefully it doesn't contribute to my problem as much as it would have, had I chosen to ignore it. I have tried to delegate more of the bureaucratic stuff to the other officers, but most of the time they fail miserably when I ask them to do fairly simple things, like attend a meeting or buy enough food to feed 20 people for a cook out. That's also a source of irritation, but unfortunately, I can't "fire" them as they were elected by the entire club.

[Felix]

..., but most of the time they fail miserably when I ask them to do fairly simple things, like attend a meeting or buy enough food to feed 20 people for a cook out. That's also a source of irritation, but unfortunately, I can't "fire" them as they were elected by the entire club.

You must be more patient. They cannot do it. Otherwise they would. They lack the discipline and will you have. If you want them to be able to do it, you must train them. Even on the simplest tasks. Until they are able to do it themselves.(Yeah, I know, this is a hard thing to do.) This increases your workload in the beginning for a little bit, but it will pay off big once they are able to do it.

I don't know what kind of art you do. But try to incorporate at least a little bit of it into your life. Even if it is only half an hour of creating art twice a week. This will add a lot to your well-being and your feeling of being overwhelmed will be gone or at least diminished.

Do you have some of your art in digital form?

You could post some of it in the productivity-section of this forum.

This would at least give you the philosophical support you missed in the art department.

[BurgessLau]

The greek word for truth is alethia.

The Greek word for truth should be transliterated as aletheia.

I am familiar with the problem of overload. I no longer suffer from it as a standard operating procedure. (Occasionally even the best planners are overloaded because some events beyond their control cause schedules to slip and thus overlap.)

Here are the solutions I found to the problem of overload.

1. I finally accepted responsibility for making choices in my life. No one (except the government) makes me do anything.

2. I realized finally that the surest way to avoid overload is to have a crystal-clear hierarchy of personal values. My highest personal values are: The work I love to do; my closest friends; and my favorite leisure activities. Anything else is either a means to an end (such as exercising to stay healthy, thus allowing me to pursue my highest values), a legal or contractural necessity (such as filing tax returns); or not worth doing in the time available.

3. I learned to be ruthless in prioritizing, doing only the most important things at the top of my daily TO-DO list, and letting everything else go. For example, I have a list, on the wall next to my desk, a list of exercises I would like to do every day. The most important ones (which directly affect posture problems I had that caused a lot of pain in the past) are at the top. Every day I go as far down the list as I can, given all the other demands on my time. Some days I do all of them; other days, I do only half. Either way, I get the most important ones done almost every day.

4. Over a period of years, I learned time-management skills. One example -- the technique that frees up the most time -- is to do fewer things. Another example is to go for quality not quantity and speed. This might mean, for example, getting a degree in five or six years instead of four. (Life doesn't stop just because one is in school -- that too is life.)

[Felix]

I found a good book on stress management on amazon. It was mentioned in another post, I looked at it and I thought that it might help. Here's the link.