You’ve read the same email three times and still haven’t answered it.
Someone asks what you want for dinner and you snap, “I don’t care.” You open another tab, forget what you were looking for, then remember something else you need to do.
Nothing is terribly wrong.
But everything is getting harder.
You’re answering faster. Small decisions are irritating. You keep switching from one thing to another without finishing much. The noise outside that you barely noticed an hour ago is suddenly driving you crazy.
You keep going because you’re not overwhelmed.
Not yet.
An hour later, one more thing happens and you’re done. Maybe it isn’t even a big thing. Someone calls. You can’t find something. A website won’t load.
It looks like that was what pushed you over the edge.
Usually, there was more happening before that.
The useful time to notice isn’t only when you finally can’t handle anything. It’s when ordinary things start costing more than they did an hour ago.
That’s a good time to change the day.
Close a few tabs. Put off the errand that doesn’t need to happen today. Eat something. Stop answering messages for a while. Finish one thing before starting another. If you have three things left to do, decide whether all three actually need doing.
You don’t have to wait until you’re falling apart to make something easier.
Sometimes the first sign that you’re approaching your limit is simply that everything starts becoming more difficult than it should be.