I’ve noticed the potential for this even in a small digital agency. Work keeps coming your way, and you’re asked to add it to your list. I use a web based project management app to manage my priorities and get a feel for expected completion dates, but what I don’t do, is make promises to anyone. If someone asks me when I can get something done by, the answer is always qualified with “assuming there are no changes to the brief” and my timeline is only ever “it will take me X hours to complete to stage Y”. Past that, no other promises can be made in an ecosystem that lies outside of my absolute control.
You also mention “cognitive overload”. This is so relevant in my experience as a designer/developer/marketer. Unless you’ve assigned the responsibility of managing your task-based priorities to a visually clear system, your mind is going to jump all over the place while you’re trying to focus on a single task. It is absolutely critical to free your mind of chaotic responsibility-management if you’ve got a shot at being truly productive.
Great article, loved it!