How Much Is Too Much?

I often laugh at people who tell me they're too busy right now. The excuse is often that they're applying to grad school, working ridiculous hours, or having a baby (lame). No doubt people are busy but ultimately these are nothing more than excuses to avoid possible failure/"burnout". Perhaps it's because I'm horrible at saying no or because I have trouble finding limits (never was very good at Calculus). But it's clear that I'm happiest and most productive when busy. Busy enough that it makes other people's heads spin when I tell them what I'm up to. Here is a list of my commitments/activities that put a demand on my time (Note: no particular order of commitment level or amount of time):

1. Zipcar employee (Inbound & Outbound Sales)
2. Rugby Coach (Brandeis University Men's team)
3. Rugby Referee
4. Blogger (Clearly doesn't take up too much time)
5. Career Development (networking, events, emails)
6. Side Projects (Kendall Market, The Mutty Election)
7. President of Friends of Middlebury Rugby (clearly shows my dedication to rugby)

How am I supposed to find time to be social? When do I spend time with my wife? Dog? How am I supposed to find time to read? Go to the Dr? Hopefully I just avoid getting sick. 

It's all a matter of scheduling and being flexible. There are some things I have to do at a certain time: be to work by 9am and be to practice by 5:30 (getting to Waltham sucks at that time). Meetings and appointments are obviously constrained by the other party's schedule but I've got some flexibility here. 

Most things have no deadline and therefore can be attended to when I'm free. The way I manage emails is to be attentive to my phone, tablet, computer, etc from 7-4:30 and again from 9-12. I respond to things as soon as they come in and if the task requires a little more attention/bandwidth I setup a reasonable time-frame for delivery. 

The way my brain works ultimately helps make this possible. I'm constantly thinking about each deliverable and later translate it into a form for others once I've had a chance to synthesize. It works well for tasks like writing my blog, preparing presentations for prospective employers, coordinating a group effort to found a Co-op, or organizing a group of alumni to raise an endowment fund. It doesn't necessarily work well for a 9-5 job that expects you to make outbound cold calls but we're working on that one. I also take full advantage of an "open work environment" to make calls, focus on emails, and even write blog posts while at work. It's all about working smarter and not harder which is an art that I'm still working to master. 

Do some things get neglected? Yes. Do others fall through the cracks? Of Course. Can a simple task take a little longer than usual to complete? Not any worse than most of my counterparts and I'm much happier/more productive because of it. Everything seems to work out in the end if the important stuff is scheduled and I remain flexible with the rest. Speaking of which, when am I going to workout? 

Being this over committed is a lot like being a start-up CEO. Hopefully I can continue to do both. Both being start-up CEO and everything else.