Over the years, I have reduced the number of books I hold onto. I still enjoy their look on a shelf, the ability to handle and touch them, and the opportunity to crack open pages in search of an elusive quote I know is in there.

By now, the books I keep are ones that have meaning in my life. They made an impact. I refer to them often, because they have come to be my own private wisdom pool.

One of those books is called “Repacking Your Bags” by Richard Leider and David Shapiro. I read through it again recently because I care about you.

You are overwhelmed.

The theme emerges repeatedly in my conversations with CIOs and technology leaders. A great deal of energy was dispersed in 2020. You played a heroic role in strategic shifts, essential actions and daily implementations.

You were so successful, 2021 rolled out new functional realities in which gains could once again be made. With those gains came increasing opportunities. The pandemic served as an accelerant; future thinking became present realities.

Have you caught your breath?

I doubt it. A few weeks vacation cannot replace the physical toll and mental exhaustion of a full-blown, global crisis. Many of you aren’t even out of the woods, let alone cruising along.

But still, you have to produce. That’s your reality. And what you produce is so specialized, you have a great number of people depending on you. Who are we kidding? The business rises and falls on your technology.

You matter. You are essential. You are professional and you are human. You rise up and you rest up. You have ascended to a position others aspire to. You beat people out to be where you are, and you work hard to excel in the position you are in.

And stuff just keeps coming. At your level, you are practitioner, executive, trainer, consultant, coach, fiscal manager, vision caster, counselor, cheerleader, analyst, change-specialist but focused on the plan, teacher but lifelong learner, an all-in professional modeling work-life balance.

Overwhelm.

The overwhelmed wonder. And wonder can turn into wander. You begin to lose your grounding. You knock projects off your plate, but you aren’t really satisfied with the outcome. You could have done more. Pretty soon, all you see is the more to do or the more that could have been done.

You have to know that you are okay, right now, as you are. Being overwhelmed is a natural state that follows the competent, and being overwhelmed is not a time to panic but to look within.

When people feel overwhelmed, they try to find balance. That’s an ineffective pursuit. You don’t need balance, you need internal order. If you are ordered on the inside, you will order that which is around you. You don’t want balance. You want order.

Which is where repacking your bags comes into play.

Leider and Shapiro put forth a simple formula for the well-ordered life: Living in the place you belong, with the people you love, doing the right work, on purpose.

I define the place you belong as where the gifts of your life are met with opportunities.

Gifts without opportunity birth frustration. Opportunities without gifting yields insecurity.

I define the people you love as the community in which you thrive.

Technology leaders cannot afford to work in isolation. You need advocacy around you, not more people with agendas for you, but more people who will experience your growth with you.

I define doing the right work as that in which you give value and and receive value.

You must contribute. It’s in your blood. Leaders don’t just get by.

You must receive. No one can last who drains their well-being in the name of being selfless.

I define on purpose as being able to stay above the overwhelm and to focus on what only you can richly provide.

In the midst of all the demands on you is the one thing that is the best thing you can do.

I could give you a list of ways to delegate and prioritize and off-load and sift. Others have done so, and the odds are, you could give me an even more exhaustive list of the same.

And you would still feel overwhelmed if your life is not well-ordered. These are the four check marks that save your career (and your sanity):

• My current work provides me the opportunity to exercise my gifts and talents.
• I am in a supportive peer group and in a positive work environment.
• I am giving maximum value and I am not being under-valued.
• I am able to focus on my work and avoid being torn in different directions.

If these are true, you are aligned with your strengths and capacity. Overwhelm becomes an opportunity to prioritize, shape, develop and eliminate.

If even one checkmark is missing, you will feel frustration begin to set in.

That matters to me. When I decided that doing the right work on purpose meant starting CIO Mastermind, I did so with a heart and drive for technology leaders who were isolated, with no seat at the table, and regarded as a glorified custodian.

Now, I’m watching my friends just try to keep up. And you must. No one could overstate your value. You are essential. Who dares imagine a world without you and what your team does?

The end of the year is a time for reflection. You are sorting, making judgments, thinking through changes. Start here. Find out if you are in the place you belong. Make sure you are working in a healthy community. Dial in on value and eliminate the enemies that work against your time.

As ever, I am happy to coach you through the list. You are not alone. Contact me if I can serve you.