It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed these days.

I don’t mind working hard.  In fact, I enjoy it.  But I also want a life.

The first time I really struggled with that balance was in college.  I attended a military academy, so in addition to studying (which I thought I knew how to do), I now had to shine shoes, practice pull-ups, and do work in the squadron. 

Crazy me, I also wanted to attend a party or two.

I tried eliminating as much from my to-do list as possible so I could focus on what mattered: my classes.  The result was that my grades actually declined.

What I inadvertently discovered was Parkinson’s Law: work expands to fill the time available to complete it.  

As with my grades, more time doesn’t always equate to better performance.

It’s why productivity experts who try to solve your problems by telling you to just focus may be giving you the worst possible advice. 

Because if you harbor perfectionist tendencies or lack self discipline or are really overwhelmed by a fear of doing something big, focusing is more likely to set you back than propel you forward.  The more you focus, the more time tasks take. 

It can actually be a productivity death spiral.

I’m not the first to talk about the magic of the imminent deadline to squeeze out excellence and get more done.  But few proponents are honest enough to warn you that done incorrectly, this technique can go horribly wrong too.  

This post will set the record straight and help you get your productive mojo back in no time.

Maybe you didn’t get the promotion.  Maybe a thief broke into your house and made off with every precious thing you owned.

Or maybe the person you fell in love with and wanted to marry didn’t return your feelings.

It happens to all of us.  If you’re ambitious about life, you’ve suffered disappointments along with success.

In fact, it seems like the more you find success, the more it stings when things don’t go your way.  You wonder, how in the world could this happen to me?

I hadn’t planned to write this post.  I was all set to talk about choosing between two passions and how to negotiate your career love triangles.

Then my husband and I received some devastating news.

The closest most of us come to doing an annual review is writing the annual holiday letter.  We fill a page or two with our travels, job placements and new addresses, only to have most readers (yes, even your Aunt Vivian) yawning.  So I visited a foreign country and attended my 20 year high school reunion.  Who cares?

But pair your goals with their outcomes, and now you’ve got something worth reading.  Everyone likes to see if someone triumphed or failed.  Of course, it’s also a bit scary to be that accountable, even to yourself.  For an example of an annual review that’s not only interesting, but inspiring, check out this one by Chris Guillebeau.

I can’t claim anything quite as intriguing as Guillebeau’s “Year of the Cantaloupe,” but it has been one of the most exciting years of my life.  I started 2010 with a conviction to change my life and priorities for the better–no easy task.  Here’s how I fared.