CAU in a Coffee Shop

This morning was exceptionally chaotic. My four year old daughter asked to have some Coke as we were preparing for breakfast. I answered she could have some after school today because we don't drink soda in the morning. She immediately went on the defense and continued to ask for it. I lost it. I yelled. I'm not proud of my response. The emotional state I was in is not ideal for me to do all the things on my to-do list, so after school drop-off, I decided to drop by a coffee shop to recharge, both my car and myself.

As I reflected on the emotional volatility I exhibited earlier, I recognized my mind was flooded with the pressures of the schedule of this week and the coming weeks. I'm slated to travel to two out-of-state conferences to present on the development of Katawell's CAU framework. I downloaded all the urgent topics on my mind onto the journal I carry around.

Looking at this list, I realized this situation is exactly what CAU is designed to do: reduce overwhelm and systematically approach restoring capacity.

I pulled up CAU to sort out the disorder of my mind.

Choose (C): Choose the most urgent, critical responsibilities/tasks. Which of these tasks/responsibilities are driven by deadlines and true urgency outside of my mind?

Assign(A): Assign responsibilities/tasks which could be automated or better suited to other team members based on availability, skillsets or interest. Which of these tasks/responsibilities could I delegate to someone else? Could these be assigned for later in the week?

Uplift (U): Uplift human resources with restorative activities. What activities do I have planned to restore my capacity? If I don't, would I benefit from scheduling some?

Within Choose - I decided on 3 items that needed to happen today. I blocked time in my day when I planned to get these items done. The remainder were assigned into the rest of the week. I attempted to Assign an item to my husband, but I recognized I would be better suited to complete that task and kept his usual responsibility on his list.

The Uplift category was a bit trim. I happened to have a spa appointment today with my cousin. But I realized I needed to integrate more uplifting moments into the week. I recharge by seeing friends and sharing in social moments, so I reached out to my friend for a coffee Friday afternoon. Her schedule is open so I'm glad I have that to look forward to. Before that, I also penciled in a visit to my gym. A few rounds on the heavy bag leaves me feeling empowered and ready for all the challenges life brings.

Human capacity is not the same each day. It depends heavily on our wellbeing, and certain days' scenarios and challenges can quickly deplete capacity. These days, we are being asked to hold, do and be responsible for more than ever.

I designed CAU as a repeatable formula to assess capacity and redesign the systems which ask us to hold these responsibilities. Many time management models look at prioritizing and focuses on techniques to do more with less. On the other end, wellness practioners reset people's nervous systems and asks them to slow down. CAU tackles overload from both ends: reducing the demands we hold while also recharging the physical, emotional and social wellbeings required for human sustainability.

I thought I built CAU for the world to create more impact, when in reality - I built CAU for me and all the other people holding a lot, but also want to show up and contribute at their capacity for their communities.