Edward Hallowell, a time-management expert -- as well as someone who, in his psychiatric practice, works on issues of ADHD -- has posted some tips in his blog for the "crazy busy." In fact, he titled one of his books, "Crazy Busy: Overbooked, Overstretched and About to Snap." Yep, that about covers it.

1. Speak up. If people are "borrowing" your time, politely tell them "No." You are the gatekeeper to your time; don't allow others to steal it. A techniques that usually works: "You know, that's a good idea, but I've got a full plate right now." For "Chatty Cathys": "Cathy, I've got a load to get done today, maybe we can talk at lunch." Or, "Hey, I've got exactly one minute to goof off today, what do you need?" Try hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door.

2. Documents: floow the rule of OHIO: Only Handle It Once. Act on it, throw it away, or put it in a labeled file.

3. Forget perfect organization. Getting organized to that level takes more time than it's worth. Just get organized enough so that disorganization doesn't keep you from reaching your goals or meeting deadlines.

4. Vary tasks. Variety helps get perspective at micro and macro levels. Try not to stay in one mental mode too long. For example, go from number-based work to word-based work. You can't always control work flow, but you can control "mental mode flow."

5. Put the brakes on. When you feel an overload coming, like an incipient sneeze, stop, sit down, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Remember Buzz Aldrin's perspective from space: "I could put up my thumb and block the entire earth out. With my thumb."

6. Go cerebral. This is #5 expanded to 30 minutes instead of 30 seconds. Some call it meditation. Some call it prayer. Some call it leaving the planet.

7. Keep a notepad, the kind hotels give away on the bedside table -- or index cards, or post-its -- close at hand. An executive coach, Brad Harris, says, "When an idea hits, write it down before an interruption vaults it into the ether." It's not always an idea, either -- more often, it's us, promising to do something for someone "right away" -- like drop the keys to the truck off at our mother's house -- and then forgetting as soon as we hang up the phone.

8. Adopt one of the lines from the Twelve-Step program: We're blessed to be stressed. Or, as Wendy Reid Crisp, the former editor of Savvy: The Magazine for Executive Women, once wrote: "Losing your mind is a small price to pay for an interesting life."