Schedule-itis Journal: Case Study - The Overwhelmed Office Worker

Case History:

Meet Jane, a 32-year-old administrative assistant with a passion for spreadsheets and a knack for procrastination. Jane's day is filled with endless meetings, emails, and reports. Her boss has assigned her a 30-page report due yesterday, which she's still working on.

Symptoms:

Jane's Schedule-itis diagnosis is characterized by:

• Excessive coffee consumption
• Recurring nightmares about TPS reports
• Uncontrollable urges to check email every 5 minutes
• Inability to distinguish between work hours and personal time

Prognosis:

After a thorough examination of Jane's schedule, we conclude that she suffers from a severe case of Schedule-itis. Her condition is exacerbated by the fact that her boss has scheduled a team-building meeting during her already-overcrowded lunch break.

Treatment Plan:

To manage Jane's Schedule-itis, we recommend:

• Assigning her a 10am-4pm workday with a 2-hour break in the middle
• Providing her with a color-coded calendar to help her prioritize tasks
• Encouraging her to take breaks to play video games during work hours (research shows it improves productivity)
• Scheduling her boss's meetings during his own lunch break

More Schedule-itis treatment plans