A Vortex of Your Own Doing — by Dan Lynn
By Dan Lynn
"A vortex of your own doing." I say it all the time — usually to myself but also to other driven professionals.
I hear the complaint constantly, from founders, executives, and friends: "I'm slammed." "I'm underwater." "There aren't enough hours." I get it — the feeling is real. But when I actually sit with someone and trace how their week got that way, the truth is almost always the same: they built the storm they're standing in.
They said yes to the meeting that didn't need them. They stacked seven calls back-to-back with no room to think, eat, or breathe. They committed to a deadline that was never realistic, then sprinted at a wall they drew themselves. They kept the project they should have handed off. Nobody did this to them. They did it to themselves — one small, reasonable-sounding "yes" at a time.
I'm not pointing fingers from a safe distance. I've spun up plenty of my own vortexes. The hard part isn't the work — it's admitting the chaos has an author, and the author is you.
And here's why that's actually good news: if you created it, you can uncreate it. The calendar you overloaded, you can protect. The meeting you accepted, you can decline. The timeline you set, you can reset. Control was never taken from you — you gave it away in little pieces, and you can take it back the same way.
We are all in the vortex of our own doing.
Questions this Key Learning answers
How do I stop feeling overwhelmed by my own calendar?
The author suggests tracing how the week became overloaded. The chaos often grows through small choices: unnecessary meetings, back-to-back calls, unrealistic deadlines, and work that could have been handed off. Recognizing those choices is good news, because the calendar can be protected one decision at a time.
What do you do when every commitment feels necessary?
Our analysis recommends separating demands that are truly imposed from commitments that were accepted, preserved, or never questioned. Every yes is a trade-off that consumes attention and closes off alternatives. Looking closely at each commitment can reveal where choice still exists without pretending that every demand is optional.
Can I regain control after taking on too much work?
The author’s central lesson is that a self-created vortex can also be uncreated. A meeting can be declined, an overloaded calendar protected, an unrealistic timeline reset, or a project handed off. Control was often surrendered in small pieces, so it can return through the smallest reversible decisions rather than one dramatic rescue.