Copyright © 2019 by Michelle Rial.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rial, Michelle, author.

Title: Am I overthinking this? / by Michelle Rial.

Description: San Francisco : Chronicle Books, [2019]

Identifiers: LCCN 2018035784 | ISBN 9781452175867 (hc), 9781452177380 (epub, mobi)

Subjects: LCSH: Worry--Humor.

Classification: LCC PN6231.W648 R53 2019 | DDC 818/.602--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018035784

Design by Rachel Harrell.

Amtrak is a registered trademark of National Railroad Passenger Corporation. The Beatles is a registered trademark of Apple Corps Limited. Disneyland is a registered trademark of Disney Enterprises, Inc. IKEA is a registered trademark of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Kryptonite is a registered trademark of Schlage Lock Company LLC. La Croix is a registered trademark of Everfresh Beverages, Inc. Teflon is a registered trademark of The Chemours Company FC, LLC. Q-tip is a registered trademark of Unilever. Walt Disney World is a registered trademark of Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Chronicle Books LLC

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www.chroniclebooks.com

Table of Contents

Introduction

Overthinking

My Daily Routine

Where are my hair ties?

Do I have enough hairpins?

Am I flossing enough?

How long should this dish soak?

Should I wash my hands again?

What does my tote bag say about me?

What should we listen to?

Has anyone seen my sunglasses?

Do I need to cancel my credit cards?

Can I injure myself while Q-tipping?

Should I pop this zit?

Did I leave the iron on?

What am I forgetting?

Overthinking

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Is this wine OK?

Should I have more coffee?

Am I eating too much cheese?

Should I grab some kale?

How am I full already?

Does this need butter?

Should we get ice cream?

How should we split this?

Is brunch fiscally irresponsible?

Is it watermelon season?

Why do I feel terrible?

Should I eat the rest or save it?

Still or sparkling?

What can I serve at this party?

Overthinking

the Subject Line

How should I start this email?

How should I end this email?

Does this need an exclamation point?

Am I getting fired?

Are people judging me by my desk?

What if I watch old episodes of “The Office” while I work?

What if I fail?

Can you tell I’m stressed?

Am I good at my job?

What’s more important?

Is this a healthy lifestyle?

How do I make small talk?

Do we have anything better to talk about?

Overthinking

Adult Life

Is it normal to cry on your birthday?

What should I do for my birthday?

What’s so great about camping?

Is this too luxurious?

Should I lend you my books?

Should I go out?

What am I going to eat?

Can I keep it alive?

Do I have too many plants*?

Which white paint should I use?

Will my home project look like the ones I see on TV?

How do I get better at this?

Is it too late to start?

Should I frame this myself?

Which couch should I get?

Do I have to hand-wash this?

Is it wedding season already?

Should I buy this?

Should I get rid of this?

Which bin does this go in?

Am I using too much plastic?

Overthinking

Relationships

Am I going to regret this?

Will our relationship survive this step?

What does this mean?

Is this a deal breaker?

Is this a good fit?

Can you handle my hang-ups?

Am I a bad friend?

Which F·R·I·E·N·D am I?

Maybe we should talk?

Excited for the holidays?

Will parenthood change everything?

Overthinking

the Small Stuff

What’s worse?

Is it too early to plan my Halloween costume?

Can I make it through another harsh winter?

Will I ever use the math I learned in school?

Will I ever use the math I learned in “Mean Girls”?

Is my haircut awful?

How much do I tip for this?

Does everywhere in L.A. take twenty minutes?

Why am I always late?

Why don’t I bike more often?

What’s wrong with my car?

Can I work from this coffee shop?

Has this* ever happened to you?

Am I spending enough time in nature?

What can I learn from the outdoors?

Overthinking

the Big Stuff

How do I find a good doctor?

What if there really is something wrong with me?

How do I stay calm?

Am I doing enough?

Do I really need to worry about climate change?

What if it’s too late?

What can I do to help?

What is there to be grateful for?

Is this obvious yet?

Did I screw up?

Should I give myself a break?

What would the Beatles do?

How do you measure*, measure a year?

Will it be OK?

Acknowledgments

Introduction

This is not a book of charts.

This is a book of questions. Questions I’ll attempt to answer and over-answer with the help of charts, graphs, and physical objects. Questions like: Which wine should I bring? How should I start this email? Do I really need more plants?

This book is a window into my anxieties, and maybe some of yours, too. In it, I try to capture the infinite mind maps we, as overthinkers, create when we attempt to make even the most insignificant of decisions.

This book has dreams of being on your coffee table, but hopefully never as a coaster (more about book lending etiquette on page 69). It dreams of being a gift to your friend with the plant problem hobby. It hopes to be a reminder that there isn’t always one right answer—and that, sometimes, the only answer is to pick a path and keep moving.

This book is a work-around. It’s a response to a long struggle with chronic pain that eventually limited my ability to work as a graphic designer. I’d spent years creating dense digital charts and infographics, accompanied by an endless cycle of flare-ups. I eventually left my job as a senior designer at a fun media company with great snacks, very aware of all that I could no longer do. Eventually, and thankfully, I shifted my focus to what I could do—charts—but they had to be simple. I switched to pen and paper, adding the occasional object when my hands were too achy from drawing. With these simple charts, I could tell the story of my many anxieties in just a few lines.

This book didn’t cure me, but it did give me a reason to keep going.

But maybe I’m overthinking it.

It’s also a book of charts.

My Daily Routine

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

the Subject Line

Adult Life

Relationships

the Small Stuff

the Big Stuff

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to send this book out into the world, and for everyone who had a part in making that happen.

A big thank-you to my editor, Deanne Katz, and the rest of the team at Chronicle Books for taking on and shaping this project.

Thank you to Vanessa Hope Schneider for playing friend-agent and encouraging me to do this long before I had the chutzpah.

Thank you to so many Jessicas: Saia, for letting me pitch “made-up charts” for actual money; Misener, for hiring me to make charts as a real job; and Hische, for making the first chart I ever loved.

Thank you to Jason Kottke, Nathan Pyle, Adam J. Kurtz, Caroline Siede, Champ Teepagorn, and so many more of my art and internet heroes for the unexpected support and for finding my work worthy of sharing with others.

Thank you to Tim, Margaret, and Rob for literally keeping my head on straight.

Thank you to my family for the love and support. Thank you to my dad, José, for sparking my interest in the patterns and math behind everyday things, and my mom, Omaira, for being my biggest fan. Alexa, play “Las Mañanitas.”

Most of all, thank you to Lenny for the infinite support, positivity, and dance breaks. I’m sorry about the mess.