What is Overhead?

Overhead is extra work or time needed to get something done.

Imagine you're building a sandcastle at the beach. You have all your sand and water ready, that’s your main job: building the castle. But before you start, you need to dig out the wet sand from the bucket. And after you finish, you might need to clean up by throwing away the old bucket or wiping off your hands. Those extra steps, digging the sand and cleaning up, are like overhead.

They’re not part of the main job (building the castle), but they still take time and effort. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to build your castle properly!

Sometimes, overhead can be small, like taking a few seconds to tie your shoes before running. But other times, it can be big, like having to wait for a long meeting before starting the real work.

Think of it like this: if you're making a sandwich, the bread and filling are the main parts. The time you spend getting the knife or cleaning the table is overhead. It’s not bad, it just means you need to plan for it!