When It's Too Good To Be Good.

image: buckets.co

Michael, this wouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to do.
Michael, can you spare me one hour? I know you are very busy. Just tell me, any one hour; you can even choose time and place.
Just a sec, Michael. Help me with this.

The truth is it has never taken me 10 minutes to do that 10 minutes task. And that one hour, please, request often end up taking my whole day. Plus, the one sec request is just a way of making me look bad if I say no.

These days I understand how easy it can be to be extremely busy and not get things done. I mean things I planned to do. Everyday I have a pending list of tens of requests waiting for my attention. Most don't take more than a few minutes to do but the problem is that when I try to do them I end up spending hours on them all and become too exhausted to do the things I had plan to do that day or anything significantly productive. 

I have emails awaiting my replies, I have blog comments awaiting my replies, I have YouTube comments awaiting my replies, I have SMS messages awaiting my attention, I have Whatsapp messages awaiting my replies and, biggest of them all, I have many missed phone calls that are a sure pathway to more requests for me.

I am coping but not in a way most people like. I have grand plans for myself too. I want to complete the manual for our R and Python data analysis training class. I want to build up a lot of sample projects to train the participants. I want to finish my Python for Finance course. I want to complete reading my Algorithmic Trading with Python and R books, I want to build the mobile app versions of my Nigerian Market Data and need to complete my video lessons on Xamarin Forms to achieve that. I want to also have a little time for myself -- to read a novel or watch movies without feeling under pressure from tasks deadline.

I am struggling to have a life. Why? Because too many people think a lot of tasks are very easy for me. I like the attention, the genuine attraction, the humbling respect they show me and the privilege too. I am just not good at handling it all.