Future Melt Down?

I recall approximately 3 weeks ago asking my boss for more work because I was "bored" at work. He didn't have a chance to give me extra work, it fell out of the sky and now I have more than enough. I wish there was a thing called "balanced workload." Many of you also dream of such a thing. It is where you have enough work to keep you busy so the day passes quickly but gives you enough room to take on an extra project and not sweat it or to kick back some days and surf the net or leave a little early.

For the past week and a half, I have been crazy busy. It is all fun stuff and I love seeing things change and improve but man, I am starting to slip. First, my response time on emails has greatly increased from when I receive them to when I get back to people on them. Second, I have a very disorganized desk with notes of things to remember (but the bad thing is my handwriting is so bad I can't read what I wrote or I don't know what my note means by the time I get to it). Third, I am forgetting things that I normally wouldn't or I am confusing projects and people. So many items are closely related but just oh so different. Lastly, I have been good with agendas and meeting minutes but I do my take aways that depend on others for the next step and then I forget to follow up with them since they aren't delivering in a timely fashion.

These last few weeks are making me seriously evaluate how I prioritize and organize myself. I have project folders and email folders; I take notes; I make lists as I go and then at the end of the day consolidate into one master to begin the next day off of; I try to keep up on emails and flag ones that don't need immediate action so I remember to go back and get them taken care of. Does anyone have any other approaches for maintaining a sane approach when everything seems to be an emergency? Oh, and unlike some of you, my emergencies come from many different people, departments, and projects/functional areas. It is hard to filter and they aren't from direct reports-hell, I only have one direct report and she is in the same situation I am.