This problem isn't specifically about running forums.
I don't have this problem on my own forums either of them, as the membership is small on both. But I do have it in general through running a) a business b) a community project c) major renovations on a huge old house which is part of the commun ity project, and finally d) I'm disabled with frequent episodes where my energy is cut way down.
DELEGATION is one answer. But delegation actually demands time to set up - showing others what needs to be done and monitoring their early stages in the role to avoid too many mistakes. There always are mistakes though and this eats up more time. At first delegation can actually
worsen the problem by training and troubleshooting.
However if a bit of time can be freed by other means it is a good longer term solution.
EFFICIENCY SHORTCUTS - set aside 10 mins a couple times a week or hopefully more often to look at a working practice to see if you can cut the time you need on it.
Ask - what are the most time consuming/ stressful tasks? Then - how can this be cut down a bit?
Template emails. Information guides you can point to instead of explaining.
A big help I use is Firefox Clippings where I have lots of pre-set messages and even bits of code stored. It works in forum textareas as well as emails.
A good time to mull this over is lying in a bath. You're getting relaxation at the same time, and the womblike effect stimiulates endorphins, the creative thinking hormones.
PERSONAL MAINTENANCE Are you getting exercise? If not you'll work much slower and less efficiently. Coffee starts to not work if you rely on it without exercise!
Get some exercise at least twice preferably three times a week. You'll zoom through things faster and more constructively instead of dragging.
Diet should be low on carbohydrates as this drags energy and brainpower down. Fish. Vegetables. Lots of liquid: a glass of water for every cup of coffee.
Sex is also helpful (alone, partnered, poly). It cuts out a bit of efficiency time and tends to induce a nap. But the brain will rise up refeshed and efficient.
RUTHLESS SELF PROTECTION In the end though it comes down to asking who is in charge here? Am I a slave? or am I a chieftain?
If I am a chieftain I can MAKE THEM WAIT!
If they don't get their stuff answered or fixed within the hour/ within 24 hours, it's not the end of the world. A lot of the time I'm dead efficient but there are periods where I have to just switch off and (silently) say F OFF for the sake of my sanity. Otherwise I feel like a rat on a treadmill and the community project at least is purely there for my pleasure, my dream.
Contrary to my fears playing hookey (my absence) doesn't collapse the project unless I do it constantly of course. Part of the deep level of this is the core admin fantasy of being indispensable, the Great and Mighty Power. It's a lot of what attracts us to being admins: it makes us powerful. But not indispensable for a few mins, an hour, even a day. Deal with it.
A half day a week completely OFF is vital to sanity and health. Minimum.
Consider: if you collapse from overdoing it that isn't going to help them. They will lose worse than if you just back off a bit for now.
Consider: if you let youerself become a slave drudge you WILL burn out, hate it, and give up.
So - play hookey! It's good for efficiency.
PRIORITIES Divide tasks into 3 levels.
RED = must do TODAY. Define this by whether something disastrous will happen if I leave it to tomorrow.
So I try to do them today but sometimes I don't make it.
ORANGE = tomorrow/ next say after. Define this by whether it could just possibly wait till tomorrow or the next day. Earthquakes will not happen. WW3 will not start. Things on this level can either move up to RED, stay here on ORANGE, or even move downward as situations change.
BLUE = can wait. This task could be put in the queue to be done later after the others. Items can be re-assessed to move up, or things can slip down here from higher levels.
EACH LEVEL will tend to slip to the next on some of its items. Ya know what? That is actually quite helpful. In fact apart from the top RED items things can actually drift away and disappear before I get to them. Magic!