Overworked or Overwhelmed

Here is a multiple-choice quiz question: Which word best describes association executives today: a) overworked b) underworked c) energetic d) lazy The best answer may well be "none of the above. " Powerful social forces have the potential to turn each of us into human whirlwinds charging about in "fast forward. " Work, time away from work, and everything in between appear as if they are all part of an ever-lengthening to-do list, to be handled during days that race by. To say that association executives work too many hours, and that too much work is at the root of the time-pressure you are now feeling, is to miss the convergence of larger, more fundamental issues. You could handle the slightly longer work week than that of five years ago. It's everything else competing for your attention that leaves you feeling overwhelmed. Once overwhelmed, the feeling of overworked quickly follows. Nearly every aspect of our society and our lives has become more complex, even since the mid-1980s. Traveling has become more cumbersome. Learning new ways of record keeping, maintaining membership numbers, and staying "current" takes its toll. Merely participating as a functioning member of society guarantees that your day, week, month, year and life, and your physical, emotional, and spiritual energy will be depleted without the proper vantage point from which to approach each day and conduct your life. Do you personally know anyone in association management who consistently has unscheduled, free stretches? Five factors, or "mega-realities," are simultaneously contributing to the perceptual and actual erosion of leisure time among Americans in general, and association executives in particular, including: * Population growth * An expanding volume of knowledge * Mass media growth and electronic addiction * The paper trail culture * An overabundance of choices. Population From the beginning of creation to 1850 A.D. world population grew to one billion. It grew to two billion by 1930, three billion by 1960, four billion by 1979, and five billion by 1987, with six billion en route. Every 33 months, the current population of America, 257,000,000 people, is added to the planet. The world of your childhood is gone, forever. The present is crowded and becoming more so. Each day, world population (births minus deaths) increases by more than 260,000 people. Regardless of your political, religious or economic views, the fact remains that geometric growth in human population permeates and dominates every aspect of the planet and its resources, the environment and all living things. This is the most compelling aspect of our existence, and will be linked momentarily to the four other mega-realities. More densely packed urban areas have resulted predictably in a gridlock of the nation's transportation systems. It is taking you longer merely to drive a few blocks; it's not your imagination, it's not the day of the week or the season, and it's not going to subside soon. Our population and road use grow faster than our ability to repair highways, bridges and arteries. In fact, vehicles (primarily cars) are multiplying twice as fast as people, currently approaching 400,000,000 vehicles, compared to 165,000,000 registered motorists. In whatever cities your next hundred meetings are going to be held, consider this: national urban planners report that there will be no clear solution to gridlock for decades--not just auto gridlock, but air traffic as well. Moreover, all population studies reveal that our nation's metropolitan areas will become home to an even greater percentage of the population. If only the gridlock were confined to commuter arteries. However, shoppers, vacationers, even campers--everyone in motion is or will be feeling its effects. Knowledge This moment, you and everyone in association management are being bombarded on all sides. …