spread oneself thin
Take on everything
To spread oneself thin is to take on too many commitments, diluting one's time and energy across so many tasks that none receives adequate attention.
The image is of butter or some other substance stretched so far it barely covers the surface: Between work, volunteering, and three kids' activities, she's spreading herself thin.
The phrase usually carries a cautionary note—effectiveness suffers when focus scatters.
- jack of all tradesSkilled broadly, not deeply
- wear too many hatsTake on excessive roles
- spinning platesBalancing rotating dishes aloft
- overcommitPromise more than feasible
- diluteReduce by adding solvent
too many irons in the fire · multitask · delegation · overextension · workload · plate is full · fragmentation · overwhelm · overwork · burning the candle at both ends · depletion · exhaustion · running on empty · overstretch · burnout · inefficiency · anxiety · deadlines
spread oneself thinfocus
Concentrated attention point
concentrate · specialize · go deep · zero in · put all one's eggs in one basket
spread oneself thinprioritize
Rank by importance
set boundaries · say no · pick one's battles · pare down · simplify
spread, spreads, spreading, spreader, widespread, oneself, thinned, thinning, thinner