Many of us have work roles that are ‘crazy busy’, and often, this is something we thrive on.
But we can also experience times when our workload has tipped beyond that ‘optimal stress’ point where it energises us to a point where we feel overwhelmed and overloaded and end up pulling really long hours to keep our heads above water.
There’s a lot of data available about the negative impacts of this situation – on well-being, motivation, energy, relationships, etc. But this article aims to share some of our team’s observations – of themselves, one another and our clients, and some of the strategies that have been successfully implemented. Hopefully, they’ll help you to get and keep things on an even keel!
First – identify the contributors
A quick review of your meeting notes, task list, calendar and sent items from recent weeks can be very enlightening and help you identify where your time is being spent. No doubt you’ve been productive and got lots done, but is it what you’d planned and really needed to be focusing on?
Some common contributors to overload are:
Too many hats, with your time and attention pulled in too many directions.
Others not knowing what you have on your plate. Let’s face it: the more responsibility you have and the more autonomously you work, the less likely others are to know the breadth (or depth) of things you’re working on, other than what they’re directly involved in.
Overcommitting… this is a doozie and so common! You’re capable and keen and like to get things done. However, there’s a big difference between what you could do versus what you can in the time available and, often, what you should be focusing your time and talents on.
Are you your own worst enemy, agreeing or committing to tasks and projects because you know you could do them well without considering the rest of your workload and whether those commitments are realistic?
Some tried and true strategies
Keep others in the loop about your workload. Strategies include sharing calendars, regular meetings with peers to provide and receive brief project updates about next steps and timelines, and a morning huddle with your immediate team to share your priorities for the day.
Review and revise your position description (PD). In this, we’re referring to people at all levels of an organisation. Even directors (actually, especially directors and high-level managers!) need a PD. And it needs to reflect the accountabilities and objectives of your role. In your review, look back on the info you gathered from recent weeks. How many of those actions are not captured in your PD? And is there anything included that could go to someone else?
Delegate and train others to take on more. A natural progression from the point above – delegation can both take things off your plate and give others in your team the opportunity to expand their roles and develop new skills. They may need training to do so from you, others, or external sources, but the longer-term gains can be significant all around.
Recruit new team members with specific skills or outsource relevant functions and projects. A review of your internal human resources is called for where you don’t currently have people to delegate to. It might mean recruiting for targeted capabilities, or you might outsource things that others can do effectively, like bookkeeping or driving specific projects.
Diarise and schedule. This can be a game-changer! If you don’t already have well-developed skills in a program like Outlook, investing in quality training is well worth the time and cost. With these skills on board, strategies include designating time for regular meetings and setting up recurring tasks, allowing time after meetings to schedule allocated actions and tasks, and ‘planning tomorrow today’. This includes committing time at the end of each day to reviewing your time commitments and task list items for tomorrow, ensuring your schedule is realistic, and then prioritising and ordering your task list accordingly. You’ll head home knowing you have things covered and can hit the ground running first thing in the morning.
Manage others’ expectations of you and your time. This relates to our first point about keeping others in the loop, with communication being key. As well as using delegation and time management skills to keep your workload realistic, letting others know when you’ll need more time on something or could do with some assistance will support you in getting the help you need.
So, if you’re regularly finishing the day with a task list that’s as long as (or longer than) when you started, and feelings of overwhelm are taking hold, give some of the above strategies a go.
The Augmentum team provides a broad range of consultancy and management services, supporting healthcare business owners and decision-makers in many key areas, such as strategy development and action planning, building effective foundations and teams, keeping your finger on the pulse, and driving growth and success.
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