You start the day with the feeling there’s a bunch of things you need to do right away.
Then the rest of the day, you’re driven by the feeling that there’s so much to do, and you’re behind on it all.
You finish the day with the same feeling, and it carries over until tomorrow.
The constant feeling of being behind—it’s something so many people can relate to. So what can we do about it?
What we usually do is become driven by this fear or conclude that we need to abandon everything and start with a fresh slate. With this fear, it can feel like these are the only two options.
But there are actually many other options. For example, you could turn this never ending task list into a game and play. You could think of every activity you do as a gift. You could create art out of all the things on your plate. You could create a vision that’s so much bigger than your tasks and their deadlines.
You could find transcendence.
Let’s explore how to transform the feeling that you’re behind on everything.
Examine the Belief
Before we move beyond the current fear, it’s important to slow down and examine what’s going on. Otherwise we’ll rush past something we want to avoid and miss the spiritual moment available to us—a chance to face ourselves and know ourselves more fully.
Slow down and note what it feels like. What is present as you tune into your body and its sensations when you feel behind on everything? Do you have a tight stomach? Some tension between your shoulder blades? Is your breathing shallow? Give yourself a minute to focus your attention on yourself.
Next, consider the beliefs you have that make you feel behind. Where does the idea that you’re behind come from? Sometimes it’s external: Other people set deadlines for you and you haven’t met them. But more often it’s internal: We have an idea that we should have an empty inbox and a task list that’s all done. That’s pretty much never going to be true, so this expectation will always cause stress.
Is this a helpful expectation, that you should be done with everything and have an empty inbox?
Find a View That Transcends Task Completion
If you’re ready to move beyond these feelings and beliefs, then you might think of a view of the situation that’s grander than playing to have a finished task list. That’s a small game.
What’s bigger? What about playing for meaning? What about serving others? What about having an experience of awe and joy?
Maybe you decide that your mission today is to create as much meaning as you can find. What can you do right now that’s meaningful? What would light you up, or move your soul? Maybe your key goal isn’t to finish your task list, but to try to brighten the day of everyone you cross paths with, or make one small bit of progress on that key thing you most want to accomplish.
Choose something bigger, and the game of being finished with everything starts to fall away.
Practicing With the Transcendent View
That’s all fine in theory, but in practice, we’ll constantly get pulled back into the old view. Start to notice when you feel behind. Slow down and be with that feeling again, like being with an old friend.
Then practice your bigger view. What can you do right now from that bigger view? Try to stay connected to it as you do the next thing. Remember that you’re playing that bigger game, and feel the meaning behind it, or the joy and awe.
One moment at a time, transcend the smaller view into something more profound.