Workin' in a Coal Mine

At what point does, "I'm incredibly uncomfortable with the volume and pace of work here," turn into "It's impossible for me to succeed in this environment?"

That's the question I'm asking myself this week.

If I had accepted all of the meeting invitations I received for Friday between 1 and 2 p.m., I would have had six concurrent meetings scheduled. There's no one to whom to delegate these meetings, and I can't be in six places at once, either in person or virtually.

The conveners really have no choice but to overschedule people - there are just too many projects and too few subject matter experts to participate in them. It's a systemic problem. But let something fall through the cracks, and all holy h*ll will break loose on the poor schmuck who 'let it' happen.

Communicating this upward is important and I have been doing that. Yesterday, for example, it was suggested that I delegate two items to colleagues to get some relief. Within the next hour, the same individual who advised me to delegate to a peer committed me to three additional tasks and deliverables due in the next 24 business hours.

I am tired.