Sarah could hardly believe how challenging her Monday morning had become. She had barely slept the night before, worried about the big presentation she needed to give. There was hardly any time to prepare since her weekend had been full of family obligations.

When she arrived at the office, she found Tom, her colleague, looking stressed. ‘I can scarcely keep up with all these deadlines,’ he complained. Sarah understood completely – they had minimal amounts of support staff since two team members were on vacation.

‘I hardly ever feel this overwhelmed,’ Sarah admitted, looking at her packed calendar. She had meetings scheduled back-to-back, leaving barely enough time for lunch. The morning coffee maker had broken down, and there was hardly any coffee left in the break room to help them stay alert.

Despite the challenges, Sarah and Tom worked together to handle their tasks. Although they had minimal amounts of time, they managed to complete the most urgent projects. ‘We may be stretched thin,’ Sarah said, ‘but we’re making it work.’

By the end of the day, Sarah could scarcely believe they had accomplished so much. While it wasn’t perfect, they had dealt with all the important deadlines. ‘We hardly ever have days this intense,’ Tom remarked as they packed up to leave. Sarah agreed, feeling proud of how they had managed despite the difficulties.