How to Get Ahead of Falling Behind?

Dear Conscience,

I have a headache, but also a deadline. I am tired, but no time to sleep. Would a rest be beneficial enough to recover me so I can work better, or would it just leave me even less time to get things done?

Yet again, it will probably be a deadline missed, with work spilling over into the next deadline, which will then also not be achievable. This is why it is so hard to dig yourself out once you’re behind. Because you try to rush, then get tired and slow, but new works still keeps piling up.

Ideally, I would be able to manage my obligations and time in a way that I am never behind. Or to notice early enough to adjust deadlines or priorities. But there are two problems with that:

1. I am very bad at estimating how much time something will take, how much time I have available, and also then in practice spending the required time on doing the task regularly.
2. It is impossible to never fall behind, because apart from the internal problems listed under number one, there are also external circumstances.

So basically, I need to both continue working on my time control so that I fall behind less often, and also have a process for dealing with the times when I do fall behind. And somehow remove the guilt from the whole story.

But right now, I don’t have time to come up with plans and procedures. I just need to get done what I can, or I will keep slipping further behind, and my future self will be in an even worse position than I am now. And as for sleep…. I’ll probably regret skipping it if I fall sick on top of all this, and then really fall into trouble.

How to ever get enough energy to push through and get ahead? And even if I somehow managed to pull it off, then I’d need to recover from that effort, and during ‘recovery rest’, I’d just fall behind again. Is climbing out slowly an option? Seems like it would require a long period of persistent commitment and motivation without slip-ups. And I don’t think that’s a viable strategy either. I simply can’t hold on much longer in this permanent state of being behind.

Sincerely,

B.