Mayday! Is it All Just “Too Much”?

by Jordan Hendler, WMABA Executive Director

May Day, Mayday! It’s the first of May, the ship is sinking, the plane is going down…oh, wait. Is it just me? Do you ever feel like your energy to overcome hits a slump and nosedives?

Fatigue. That’s the feeling some days, isn’t it? Stepping back to take a breath, take a break, feels more unpopular than ever. We’re supposed to just Go, Go, Go. It’s the mantra of the working world. How can we possibly take our foot off the gas? I don’t know about you, but I crave getting out of the fast lane and trading it for a long stop at the rest area. I want to think, process and invent.

Transparently, I have a hard time with the “too much” and it’ll look like I’m the most productive person, but it feels like I’m wearing concrete around my shoulders. Too many emails. Too many texts. Too many authorization codes I have to hunt down. Too many conference calls. Just. Too. Much. Of everything. It becomes so much, it’s hard to process a single thing. It’s also incredibly distracting from the important things.

It causes our brains to rewire for reactivity rather than productivity. And mine gets on the fritz!

We have a saying in our office: “Just do the next first thing.” This can get you out of a hole you’re in, when you feel the overwhelming pressure and don’t know what to do when there’s a pile perpetrating as a mountain. It’s a great anti-anxiety strategy. The problem with it is, you can’t stay in that mode forever. You end up only putting out fires, but once the smoke clears, it’s easy to get right back at the front of the cycle just to repeat it again.

I need to break this cycle. Burn it down and build back better. I like to observe those I admire, people who accomplish great things by implementing new ideas, new creations, innovative processes, or cutting-edge technologies. I envy those whose success sets them apart from the fray. What is it that I find most enviable? The ones who do it and don’t burn out, crash and disappear. I want to feel like I can grow and sustain.

I think permission is the place to start. 

We can give ourselves permission to step back, step aside, and have that objectivity needed to prioritize, plan and strategize the execution of projects. Projects that matter to our team. Opportunities to learn from and grow into. It could be a couple days a month, a half-day every week, or a full week off every quarter. Something to break the monotony and make the goals we want to achieve by the next time. 

Maybe our next first thing is the commitment to make the time to prioritize and plan the top priority on the list. 

I give and take the challenge to put this on your calendar now. I’m doing it soon as this goes to print! Let’s put Mayday to rest. See what I did there?

Want more? Check out the May 2025 issue of Hammer & Dolly!