How to Feel Less Overwhelmed at Work
Managing Your Time and Workload Better
As a coach, I often have clients tell me they are feeling overwhelmed at work. For most people, this feeling is caused by one thing: having too many projects on their plate at the same time.
Over the years, I have found the best way to reduce that stress is to create a list of those tasks or projects and review it while asking yourself the following three questions:
1. Are these tasks really high-priority?
You can often cross some projects off your list by asking yourself whether or not they are really important.
Will the business lose money if you do not complete a project? Will it become more challenging for the company to serve its clients if you fail to work on a task? Will your colleagues struggle to carry out their duties if you do not finish an assignment?
If your failure to complete a project will have no negative impact on your coworkers, your clients, or the business as a whole, it probably isn’t high-priority - and it may not need to be on your list.
2. Are these tasks really urgent?
Once you have crossed out a couple of low-priority tasks, you can next ask yourself whether the projects are urgent or not.
Some of your tasks will have hard deadlines coming up within the next few days or weeks. They will need to stay at the top of your list.
However, it’s likely that your list will also contain one or two items that are a lot less urgent. If so, you may want to consider postponing it and removing it from your list for now.
3. What is the appropriate level of altitude for my involvement in these projects?
Once you have narrowed your list down to high-priority projects that need to be completed in the next few weeks, you can ask yourself how involved you need to be in each one.
Some projects will require a great deal of your time. You’ll need to devote several hours a day to them.
For other projects, however, you may be able to take a more hands-off approach. Your company likely has several other people on staff who are more than capable of tackling these tasks.
Allowing someone else to take the lead on a project doesn’t mean you can simply cross it off the list and forget about it, though. You’ll still need to make sure it gets done.
I recommend asking the new project lead to send you summary highlights to keep you informed. You can also schedule regular phone calls or meetings to discuss their progress.
Though these updates will take a couple of minutes out of your day, they will take a lot less time than handling the entire project yourself - leaving you significantly less overwhelmed!
Remember, strategic prioritization and time management are skills you will need to develop and improve as you move into higher levels of management and leadership. Now you’re armed with a new tool to help you along the way!
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About The Author
Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.
Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.