So this week I wanted to tackle that Aries career mess head-on. Real talk, Monday hit me like a sack of bricks. Got three urgent emails before coffee even brewed. Boss dropped a last-minute report due Thursday. Freaked out for a solid hour, pacing around my kitchen island like a zoo animal.
The Breaking Point
Tuesday was worse. Tried to “multi-task” like they always tell you to do. Big mistake. Screwed up the budget spreadsheet by pasting numbers into the wrong columns while simultaneously nodding through a Zoom call. Spent two hours fixing it while my coworker pinged me with “??? status???” messages. Felt my horns curling from stress.
What Actually Worked
Wednesday morning I said “screw it” and did three things differently:
- Blocked my dang calendar: Put a fat 90-minute “DO NOT BOOK” slot first thing. Locked my office door.
- Wrote the stupid list: Grabbed a greasy napkin from my burger lunch. Jotted down three priorities. Not ten. THREE.
- Talked to a human: Walked straight to my manager’s desk. Said “Can’t hit Thursday deadline with current workload. What gets dropped?” Sweat was pouring but he actually agreed.
Thursday felt weirdly calm. Did that “urgent” report in my blocked time. Ignored six emails about non-emergencies. Ate lunch AWAY from my screen. Even left 15 minutes early after finishing just my napkin-list items. Honestly felt like cheating.
The Surprise Win
Friday? Boss pinged me: “Report looks cleaner than usual.” Some VP suddenly postponed the other headache project till next month. Went home before dark and didn’t even check Slack until Sunday night. Whole thing felt stupidly simple after making that damn napkin list.
