Ever feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on your checklist? Have you considered giving up on your checklist, because you'll never finish it? Heck, do you ever feel like your to-do list is growing faster than you can cross things off?
I know I've felt this way before. So when I saw the cover of Brigid Schulte's book, Overwhelmed, I hoped that I might find some answers inside. How can I avoid that crushing mental exhaustion of always feeling, well, overwhelmed?
As it turns out, this book might not have been targeted for me. Rather, the vast majority of the book focused less on just why we're so overwhelmed, and instead looked at how one specific group - mothers - are overwhelmed.
I am many things, but I'm not a parent (unless a cat counts). So many of the complaints, such as how I should be angry at my daycare, annoyed at all the after school activities of my child, or worried about getting my kid into the right preschool, didn't really apply.
In the end, the message of the book is... overwhelm is basically here to stay. You can either let go and pursue fewer activities, or suffer the overwhelm. Those appear to be the main couple of options. A little depressing.
Oh, wait - or you could move to Denmark, where apparently everything is perfect. Go figure.
I liked the first third of this book, talking about all the overwhelm, but I feel like it dropped off a bit towards the end - there were no good conclusions, more a sort of open handed, empty palm gesture. "Here's how things are - sorry about it."
Maybe Mrs. Schulte felt too overwhelmed to give the book a good, final ending.
Time to read: About 5 hours.
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