i was having a conversation with someone the other day…she said to me “I feel like I’m making no progress, and I’m getting all these things getting thrown at me and I’m totally overwhelmed.”

Here’s what helps me deal with those situations….

1. Pick the 3 most important things to get done and stay focused on them. I have 3 things that I am totally focused on right now…they’re big things, but they are critical to get right. If I get them wrong, the whole project will be impacted. They are things like funding. Requirements to keep things moving which usually feel like bureaucratic paperwork, but I can’t avoid them.  Every day I think about what I need to move those 3 big things forward, and that sets the priority for my day. Everything else is a nice to have.
2. You don’t have to catch everything that’s thrown at you.  Often, I find people don’t even remember what they think they gave me and I find out they’ve talked to a bunch of other people about it.  I call it the “fishing net approach.” They throw the issue at a lot of people, and then see who catches it. Nope. Not yours…unless it really is.
3. Manage the position you’re playing: you don’t have to be the leader on every issue. This is harder, because you’ll be tempted to step in. But it’s perfectly fine not to be the lead, and be a contributor instead…but it’s up to you to manage not stepping in that role.