Know When to Back Off
The Copywriter Column #82
Maybe you’ve noticed my absence here in the past few weeks. It wasn’t necessarily intentional as much as it was, well, necessary.
We just wrapped up our busiest time of the year at the agency (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), and during that time, my time itself was rather limited.
Toss in moving back into our house after a year of renovation delays, two months of a household sickness, and an (almost) 11-month-old who’s home sick from daycare more than he’s at daycare, and well, as you can imagine, time is precious.
I recently read this great article from The Engineering Manager called Manage Your Capacity, Not Your Time. In it, James Stanier writes:
You are only able to allocate as much time to your tasks as your capacity allows. However, your capacity is not a constant: it is a function of your energy levels. On a given morning, if you are well-rested and feeling good, you will likely have a productive and effective day and also be stable in the face of unexpected events. However, if you are tired, overworked or stressed, you will be unlikely to be able to apply yourself in a measured and effective way.
This obviously applies to more than just work, but to life as well. But your energy levels affect your total capacity. Anyway, Stanier’s solution is pretty solid.
All that to say, my capacity isn’t what it was this past few weeks. But onward and upward. See you back here next week.
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