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 pain to 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.

当你突然面临比平常更多的任务负载时，任务大爆炸就要发生了。我经常经历这种情况：你需要处理两倍于平常的事务，承受两倍于平常的压力。你精神之弦绷得很紧，你感觉自己抓狂了，随时就会崩溃。

    为此我整理出帮你应对任务大爆炸的方法清单。希望这些招数能帮你解决更多一点的问题，不至于你一筹莫展得只能狂抓自己的头发。

    1、停止踌躇观望，主动思考。当任务爆炸袭击你的时候，你很有可能还盘旋踌躇于侵袭的漩涡里，不确定要做什么。天马行空、眉毛胡子一把抓是最糟糕的，很多时候任务背后可能隐藏着致命问题，如果你眉毛胡子一把抓，很有可能错失解决最关键问题的最佳时机。

    2、分析轻重缓急，确定优先顺序（了解哪些是可以缓一缓或放弃的任务）。让自己镇静下来后，就该分析评估任务优先顺序了。问问自己: 如果时间紧迫不够用，必须要放弃哪些任务呢？另外，不是关键性的任务都要缓一缓放在日程的后面。

    3、即刻行动。一旦你确定了什么是最重要的，就马上开始行动。很多人面对任务爆炸时，习惯于一拖再拖或者只做容易做的事。如果你是这样，那么不要再“明日复明日”和逃避了，计划下一步并即刻行动。

    4、归类交错分解工作负荷。两倍于平常的工作负荷突然袭击时，你是猝不及防的，没有多余的时间让你调整适应。每到此时，我就将工作分解到若干个60-90分钟的时间段里，以确保不会过渡疲劳。归类交错分解，就是将需要不同知识技能的任务项目交错排列。60分钟的阅读任务完成以后，转向写作或交流等其他任务。这样能保证你工作更持久更投入。

    5、长期任务爆炸的策略（你在通向一个核冬天么？）。这个任务大爆炸是暂时的还是一个长期的调整呢？如果你认为这个爆炸或许会对你有长期的冲击，那么，重新评估一下你的生活是一个不错的方法。为了确保生存下来，哪些担子是要卸下来的呢？

     6、有效有用的“偷懒”。如果你的任务爆炸将要持续数星期甚至数月，那么适当休息是很明智的。关键在于：确保你的休息是有效有用。你是不是有过这样的情况：你打算休息放松一下结果却把精力浪费在无谓的琐事上？这种情形的发生的频率是多少？确定到底什么能使你精神振奋能量焕发，把时间花在这些事情上。

    7、一天之计在于晨。如果你预先知道随后几天你的工作负荷堆积如山，那么就早睡早起。早起工作会使你全力投入。而且这种动量会伴你一整天，通常你一天中最重要的任务就会在前半天完成。

    8、饮食清淡。食物消化会耗掉很大一部分的能量（无双关意义）。保持你能量水平的好方法就是吃多汁的蔬菜和低脂食物。往嘴里随便塞些汉堡煎炸食品只会降低你的工作效率。

     9、列出要做的每件事。千里之行始于足下，不积跬步无以至千里。列出每一件你要做的事情会增加你处理驾驭这些任务的信心。列清单的过程将模糊的无形琐碎的任务提取出来，并把它们转化为易管理可执行的任务。

    10、切断电源，摈除干扰。如果说任务大爆炸让你遍体鳞伤，那么最终会将你置于死地的，是干扰和分心。如果对你执行任务没有用途，拔掉电话、网络或电脑。越多噪声和干扰，越难于集中精力。尽管开始几分钟的无声安静，可能会使你感到很不舒服，但是这样做可以马上让你进入快速高效的进程中。

    11、分工合作，各司其职。如果你效力于一个工作团队，有效的方法是将任务分解为若干子部分，并尽快讨论分配出每个子部分的详细任务。只有在急需的情况，才允许组员间的交流。如果必须召集大家会面讨论，前提是这样的会面必须有助于保持工作的进展步调，而且确保每个组员都独当一面。

    12、先苦后甜。为自己随后几个工作小时找一个激励。答应自己在完成任务后给自己一些奖励，不需要很大，哪怕是休息20分钟来做自己喜欢做的事情就会很奏效。不要破这个先例：允许自己先尝到奖励的甜头再工作。如果你先自我奖励了，你的心理趋向就很难不去拖延工作了。

    13、寻找省时捷径。如果你能高屋建瓴的观察每件事，每件事都能找到捷径。为尽快达到目标，你通常要找到捷径以便迅速解决问题。诚然，当你有足够时间将精力放在工作“质量”上的时候，我们并不赞成你寻找捷径。但是如果时间紧迫，你就必须寻找通往罗马最省时间的路了。

    14、考虑后果，小不忍则乱大谋。有时候你需要先体验一些小痛苦，为的是避免将来更多的痛苦。仔细考虑一下：如果不能完成每个任务，后果会是什么样的呢？如果是这样，找出让你忍受最小痛苦的任务并放弃它们。在你已经无法有效管理时间的时候，这或许是避免更大损失承受更大痛苦的唯一途径了。

    15、锻炼身体不能舍。很多人遇到超负荷任务爆炸时，首先就是将锻炼身体从日程上裁掉。如果任务爆炸只有一两天，这样做也无妨。但是当你的超负荷工作量要持续数周甚至数月时，这样做无利反害。运动有助于你保持高能量水平来投入工作中，即使每天30分钟的运动也会有帮助。