In Spanish, we say that someone drowns in a glass of water: ahogarse en un vaso de agua.

It’s like saying, “don’t make a mountain out of a molehill,” but I still like the concept of drowning in a glass of water, as ridiculous as it sounds. The vision of this idiom fits much better with someone overwhelmed with a situation that does not deserve it.

For example, here are some common situations I usually hear about:

I have so much work that I don’t even know where to start. I get really moody and sometimes have such a terrible attitude toward my team that I start to resent my job.

I get overwhelmed at home. I start cleaning the house because I don’t know how to complete my to-do list or even where to start. I can’t even answer my friend’s phone calls!

Maybe it is my ADHD (which I call multitasking) or maybe it’s all those classes my mother insisted I take, but I am a pretty good swimmer.

Most of the time I drive my team crazy which I call “busy” which really just translates into learning. A win for us all, right?

But I can handle a lot of projects at once. In truth, it is not my swimming or multitasking skills that help me from drowning.

Strategy is the magic word here. I don’t think I would be able to accomplish anything without strategy in my life. Strategy is my superpower. From cleaning the house to tackling work tasks and managing my team. I’d say I do it just fine!

You can call it a plan if it makes you feel better, but I like “strategy.”  Maybe because of my screenwriting background, it feels that it requires more action; it has more attitude, a little edge if I may say so myself.

I LOVE to strategize; a plan of action. As soon as I have one I can breathe and let out a huge sigh of relief –– I know where to start. And of course, because I’m a type-A, I also have a contingency plan b and c, but that’s a tale for another time…

You can continue listening to more about my stories on my podcast Coffee N°5.