Saturday 30 April 2011

10 signs on how I know I was overwhelmed

My mind was screaming. My spirit was sinking. But on the surface, I was collected as I went on my everyday routine. Even then, I knew I was overwhelmed and here are how I knew:

1. My old laptop screamed “Low Memory” ten times a day. My new laptop took 2 months to reach me due to poor distribution, mistake in shipment and wrong OS installation. Now I understand why competitor brand (D**l ) deserved to get a bigger pie of the market.

2. I told my coaches I needed a week break. They ended up 2 to 3 weeks.

3. My planned vacation in May seems like a long wait. I am glad it is almost there now as I need a recharge badly.

4. I conveniently forgot all the deadlines and tasks. I kept a to-do list in my iPhone, which I relied on a lot. Unfortunately, I refused to refer or update the list by telling myself I need to find better software to do a better job. Because I believed I was definitely NOT the cause of this problem. Nothing beats to blaming everything else except ourselves.

5. I started reading more than 8 books since 3 months ago, but never even finish one book. And I kept buying new books. It is like buying 10 dresses during sales but never actually wear one out.

6. I used only 3 days to re-write my third Toastmaster speech after I was not satisfied with the first draft. And I was left with 2 days to rehearse. Obviously, the delivery was bad and it sapped my confidence. Then I spent the next few weeks trying to find ways to boost my confidence, including reading a book on confidence which I also did not manage to finish as well.

7. I carried piles of documents to and from work in a separate bag that weighed somewhere in between 10 to 20 apples. I felt like anytime now,  Anthony Robbins might give me a call to ask me on some of the things he is not sure. So, in order to be able to answer his question, I need to have my documents close to me. (Of course, I did not take into account that he actually does not have my phone number and have never met me before.)

8. I re-watched my few favourite TV dramas for the second and third times. Believe me, I was very much aware that I had other more constructive things to do.

9. I broke the record for my blog. There was no post for more than 3 months. Finally, when I managed to write something, it was about how overwhelmed I was and why I could NOT post anything to my blog.

10. The fact that I am writing this post while my piles of work were not done yet. And the fact that I could really find the 10 signs on why I was overwhelmed.

I am so glad my “overwhelming” period is over. Now, I am back on track. Just like a new-born.

Speaking on new-born, congratulations to all of my friends who have or going to have babies this year – quite a bunch of them. Maybe can setup a football team?

Photo courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu

My review and reflection for The Garden of Words

I just watched this short animation work from Makoto Shinkai. I had previously watched his grand hit 'Your Name' and absolutely fel...