When you’ve got too much to do, the natural response – so natural, in fact, that it can feel like the only possible response – is to try to fit in more tasks. For example, if you yearn to spend more time with your children, or pursuing your neglected passion or hobby, the obvious course of action is to find ways of doing everything else more efficiently, in order to free up hours to do the things you love.
There are countless books and productivity apps promising to help you in your quest but, as you may have already noticed, these attempts don’t always work. Instead, the more you struggle to ‘get on top of things’, the busier you find yourself. What is the explanation for this frustrating effect? And is there a solution?
Speedier is not easier