124: Drowning in Tasks: How Successful PMs Organize the Chaos

If your to-do list is 47 items long, your Slack won't shut up, and you ended the day thinking, "Cool… but what did I actually accomplish?"—welcome. You're among friends. In this episode, Kim and Kate take on the very real, very unsexy side of project management: figuring out how to manage your own work when everything (and everyone) is demanding your attention. This isn't about finding the perfect tool or building a prettier dashboard. It's about surviving —and actually functioning —in an interrupt-driven world where emails breed overnight, notifications multiply, and every task somehow feels urgent. They get into what actually works: setting a North Star for your week (yes, only a few priorities), getting tasks out of your brain before they haunt you at 10 PM, and why some tasks are secretly just traps that create even more work (looking at you, boomerang tasks). Also: a gentle reality check—you're not supposed to do everything. Grab a drink, ignore your inbox for a bit, and let's figure out how to organize the chaos without losing your mind. 🎙️ Spicy Quotes from the Episode On chaos: "If you have no North Star point, the rest of your week is going to feel like chaos." — Kate On overwhelm: "The human brain can't really process all of that. We can process having three priorities." — Kate On modern work life: "Notifications trying to notify you about notifications." — Kim On control: "Manage your tasks—don't let your tasks manage you." — Kim On reality: "There has to be things you can stop doing." — Kate 📌 Key Concepts & Takeaways The North Star Rule (a.k.a. calm down, it's not 47 priorities): Pick 2–3 things that actually matter this week. Everything else? It either supports those—or it waits. Get It Out of Your Head (your brain is not a storage system): If you're trying to remember everything, you've already lost. Write it down somewhere reliable so your brain can stop yelling at you. Boomerang Tasks (aka "this will take 5 minutes" lies): Some tasks look small but come with hidden side quests. Know the difference before you commit. Interrupt-Driven Work Is the Default—Act Accordingly : You're not bad at focusing. Your environment is designed to destroy it. Filter, batch, and control when you engage. Physical Lists Still Work (and no, it's not just nostalgia): Sometimes the best productivity hack is using something that doesn't ping, buzz, or open 12 tabs. Reflection Beats Hustling Harder : End your day or week by asking: what actually mattered? Not what felt urgent—what mattered. Not Doing Things Is a Skill: You don't need a better system. You probably need fewer things on your list. 🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned PM Happy Hour Website: Scripts & Resources: Books Mentioned: Essentialism by Greg McKeown Getting Things Done by David Allen Conquer the Chaos by Clate Mask Tools Referenced : Notion, Evernote, OneNote, Smartsheet, Jira, Monday

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124: Drowning in Tasks: How Successful PMs Organize the Chaos is an episode from Project Management Happy Hour by Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson.

This episode is 56:57 long.

This episode was published on May 6, 2026.

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