When people ask you "When will you be able to xxxx?", I would be open to them and say that "my priorities have been redirected by my manager to work on yyyy and I am not certain when I can give priority to xxxx." I would just give them the facts. I have made the mistake of trying to please everyone and do it all, but you need to protect your mental health, your balance, and protect the boundaries of what you can reasonably do.

That is a tough situation to report to someone that shouldn't be managing. If they keep changing this guy's role in the company, they may be trying to figure out what to do with him because he hasn't been successful in his other roles.

I hope your situation get better, reb569.