Too Many Tasks On My Hands

Leaving work yesterday, I realized that I am the in the position of having too much to do and not enough time to do it all.

It's a careful balance, of course. The first place I always have to start is my own use of time: am I using it effectively? I always need improvement in this area, especially at work, which has the interesting sideline of being my main point of socialization as well.

But beyond time use, there is simply a point at which one has to look at the resources and time one has in hand and say "You know, there simply may be too much work here to do and we're not resourced to do it all."

You can imagine how popular this opinion is amongst management.

So what does one do - not only for one's self, but for the employees under one's care? Any suggestion that we can do anything but what is commanded is inevitably met with the raised eyebrow, the tightened mouth, the invisible opinion of "slacker" and "not a team player". To suggest anything other than all things can be accomplished by a less than minimal amount of people is to suggest not that tasks are not possible, but that you are not capable.

Why is it that I've become incapable of making decisions - critical ones - and am willing to defend them? Why do I, who constantly am full of opinions about resources and tasks and time in my own life, cannot apply this same standard to my career? Is it that I don't see the need, that I cannot defend this to those above me, or that I lack the ability to successfully demonstrate my case?

I'm not sure - only that too many tasks with too few resources end up creating issues that cannot be solved, only glossed over.