Dealing with backlog and logjam

Ever found yourself with a backlog? From a pile of washing up in the kitchen, to a stack of papers to sort through, to a miscellany of decisions and assorted tasks to plug your way through. Even a collection of thoughts about a topic can backlog into a disorderly queue in your head and jam each other from being expressed.
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, a backlog can build up. And the backlog often becomes a logjam: a pile-up of things that all stop each other from moving. You get tense, frustrated. You feel blocked and there’s no room to breathe.

Recognising a backlog is easy: there’s more on your to-do list than you have space for, you’ve been postponing things like a chief procrastinator, and you’re feeling cruddy about your lack of achievement.

Recognising a logjam is a little more subtle: it’s the feeling that you can’t move on anything because there’s so much to do, and you not only feel cruddy about the backlog, but you feel stagnant: you just can’t move.

There are so many tips and tricks out there about which thing to start with, how to organise and prioritise the backlog/logjam, how to create the ultimate list or diagram or task-sorting-algorithm. But sometimes, the only way to get started is just to get started. It often doesn’t matter at all which one goes first: any movement will lead to more movement.

So you start somewhere, anywhere. And the backlog/logjam gets a little space in it, things move around and fall into new arrangements, even falling into order.

Even if you have deadlines on some of your to-dos, just getting started anywhere on anything can help you to get into the space where you can do your tasks and meet your deadlines.

As your clear out the backlog/logjam, you feel a sense of space coming back into your experience. Your shoulders relax, your neck and back feel a little freer. You regain a sense of movement, of flow, of possibility.

And you can breathe again.

Where are you currently facing backlog and logjam? What steps will you take to get going again?

DISCLAIMER
The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this webpage are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this webpage. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this webpage. Sue Mahony PhD disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this webpage.

Sue Mahony PhD is gifted, autistic, and ADHD. She provides 1:1 specialist support for brains similar to her own, neurodiversity training, mentoring & coaching for organisations, and a wealth of articles on this website.

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