A task explosion happens when you are suddenly faced with more tasks
than you are used to. I’ve faced many times where you suddenly need to
handle twice as much work, with twice the pressure. Stress levels rise,
and you might feel about ready to snap.

I’ve prepared a survival list of things to do when you get caught in
the middle of a task explosion. Hopefully these tips can help you get a
bit more done, and keep you from pulling the hair out of your head.

1. Stop and Think - When the explosion hits, you
   are probably still reeling from the impact, unsure what to do. Working
   randomly is about the worst plan to use, since you may accomplish less
   critical tasks when big problems lie in the background.
2. Know What You’re Prepared to Leave Behind - After
   you’ve paused yourself, it is time to assess your priorities. Ask
   yourself what you’ll need to give up if the time starts ticking down.
   Anything that isn’t crucial needs to be pushed back.
3. Begin Immediately - As soon as you’ve decided
   what is most important, get working. Some people react to a task
   explosion by procrastinating or working o­n something easy. If that is
   your case, plan your next step and take action right away.
4. Shuffle Work - A sudden doubling of your
   workload doesn’t give you much time to adapt. When this happens to me,
   I make sure I shuffle my work in 60-90 minute chunks so I don’t get
   overtired. Shuffling means placing tasks that use different skills
   after each other. Do reading tasks for sixty minutes then switch to o­ne
   that involves writing or communicating. This will allow you to work
   longer and harder.
5. Are You Heading for a Nuclear Winter? - Is
   this task explosion temporary or is it going to be a permanent
   adjustment. If you think that this explosion might have a long-term
   impact, it’s a good idea to assess your life in general. What
   commitments need to be dropped in order for you to survive?
6. Useful Laziness - Taking breaks is a good idea
   if your explosion will last weeks or months. The key is to make sure
   that your rest counts. How often do you plan to relax but end up
   wasting your energy o­n something trivial? Decide what really
   rejuvenates you and spend your short breaks doing that.
7. Morning Boost - If you know you have a few
   days with mountains of work ahead, sleep a bit earlier and wake up
   earlier. When you start your morning early, you are more likely to
   begin with full force. That momentum will carry you throughout the day
   so by noon you’ve already got your most important tasks done.
8. Eat Light - Digestion eats up a huge amount of
   energy (no pun intended). A good way to keep your energy levels high is
   to eat water-rich vegetables and low fat foods. Stuffing your face with
   a burger and fries is o­nly going to slow you down.
9. List Everything - A mile is o­nly a bunch of
   feet strung together. If you list everything that needs to be done, you
   will feel more confident that you can handle it. The listing process
   helps take the vague, amorphous blob of work and turns it into
   bite-sized pieces.
10. Unplug - If the task-explosion injures you,
    distractions will finish you off. Unplug the phone, internet or
    computer if you don’t need them that moment. The more noise you have to
    fight through the harder it will be to focus. Even if the silence is
    uncomfortable for the first few minutes, you can speed up to a quick
    flow.
11. Breakdown Delegation - If you’re working with
    a team, cut the work into large chunks and quickly discuss what needs
    to be done in each. Interpersonal communication should o­nly happen when
    strictly necessary. Get everyone to stand up if you need to hold a
    meeting as that should pick up the pace.
12. Reward Later, Work Now - Find something that
    can motivate you for the next few hours. Agree to give yourself a
    reward when you finish your work. The reward doesn’t need to be huge,
    but even a twenty minute break to do something enjoyable can do the
    trick. Don’t give yourself the reward first with the expectation to
    work afterwards! You’ve got your psychology backwards there as it will
    be just as hard to quit procrastinating after you’ve taken a break.
13. Find Shortcuts - Almost any activity has
    shortcuts if you look at it broadly enough. Find ways you can cut
    corners and get things done faster to keep up with demand. Shortcuts
    might not be advisable when you’ve got time to focus o­n quality, but if
    time is against you, do what you need to do.
14. Weigh Consequences - Sometimes you need to take a little painto avoid a lot of pain. Look at the consequences for not following
    through o­n different commitments. If you feel you can’t handle every
    commitment, find the o­nes that will give the least pain and break them.
    It might be the o­nly way to avoid a huge failure because you didn’t
    manage your time.
15. Exercise - Many people, when they face a task
    explosion cut exercise first. This might be fine if your explosion
    lasts o­nly a day or two. But if your workload overload spans weeks and
    months, this will o­nly hurt you. Exercise helps you sustain high energy
    levels for working, even if you can o­nly do a 30 minute power workout.