How to Reduce Job/Work/Task Overwhelm: Six Strategies for Getting More Out of Your Day

This week a question came to me about job/work overwhelm. The question was around feeling overwhelm at work and whether or not I ever felt overwhelmed by my workload. While I do feel overwhelmed at times by the emotional aspect of some of the work I do, I rarely feel workload overwhelm. So, I honestly had to say “no”.

The reason I rarely feel overwhelm is due, in part, to many of the tactics I’ve shared here. I do my very best to stay on top of things like creating small habits to increase productivity and efficiency, spending a few extra minutes on communication to reduce time later on, using systems and tools to remain efficient, and using micro-projects which can enhance efficiency, reduce overwhelm, increase productivity and even bring joy.

So this week I want to focus on reducing overwhelm, not all forms of overwhelm, but those related to workload, tasks, getting things done, organization, etc. Emotional overwhelm can come from these things, of course, but my primary focus today isn’t on emotions. And, it goes without saying that if you reduce overwhelm in other areas, emotional overwhelm can be reduced as well.

So let’s dig in…

Reducing Job/Work/Task Overwhelm

I use a variety of strategies for reducing workload overwhelm. These aren’t the only strategies I use on any given day to manage my life. There are different strategies for different pieces of the day and the strategies shift. I’m a firm believer in flexibility.

I want to add that you need to test things out to make sure the strategies you choose work best for you. And, finally, make sure you test your strategies over time to make sure that they continue to work well. If a strategy doesn’t work very well anymore, switch it up. Remember, flexibility!

Here we go:

Ask for what you need. I see this a lot, folks let overwhelm continue to build and build because they don’t simply say, “this isn’t working for me”. Yes, we all want to do a good job at work. Yes, we all want to look and feel competent. But overwhelm can, oftentimes, cause us to do substandard work. Don’t wait until it’s too late and things go off the rails. As soon as you feel overwhelm creeping in, evaluate. Figure out what needs to change and sometimes that means going to a boss, supervisor or employees and outlining how you can be more effective and the changes you need in order to do it. Ask for what you need when you need it.
Set boundaries around your time. If you don’t control your time, everyone else will. I do my very best to control my time so that I can stay on top of my workload. This is a place where you can make big strides in reducing overwhelm. Everything eats into time, everything. If you hope to control your time and get the most out of the time you have, you have to be strict. Every time you let time get taken from you it extends your working day. Five minutes here, 15 minutes there, and before you know it your day is 30 minutes longer. Extending your day to get all of the things required done means that you are tired and less effective. Things take longer. All of this adds to overwhelm. If your workload is consistently growing then it’s time to step back and begin tracking your time for a few days, it’s an eye opening exercise and can help you find places to set some rules and boundaries. (This is a big topic, so look for another piece just on this.)
Pick the right tools and use them. You shouldn’t feel pigeon-holed into using a specific set of tools in the same way every day. The idea is to have a bucket of tools to pull from. BUT, the tools in your bucket need to be good tools. And, you’ll have more than one bucket that you’ll pull from during the day. Your day runs on lots of tools. If you want to get the absolute best from your day, use the best tools you can, and use the best tools for you.
Set up mini-systems. If you are not yet working to create small systems to keep tasks easy and efficient, then stop what you are doing right now and spend some time on it. For every 10 minutes you spend creating an effective process for a task, you save hours later. Time spent up front is necessary but the savings can be huge. Over time, as you use your process and refine it, you’ll reap even more rewards. I find that tasks that once took 30 minutes now take less than 10 minutes consistently. That means that at the end of the day I’ve accomplished more. It also means that I get to keep some of that time for myself. Ultimately, it will help you catch up and keep on top of things, which means less overwhelm.
Eat all of the frogs. One of my all time favorite audiobooks is Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy. I listened to it more than 15 years ago. The big take away for me then was that you have to tackle the big stuff, not just the low hanging fruit, if you want to make strides in getting things done. Over the years I’ve tried to remember that one rule when I find myself procrastinating on bigger tasks. I tend to procrastinate when I’m stuck on one bit of the bigger project or when I’m having a hard time breaking a bigger project into manageable chunks. Eventually, I realize I just need to eat the damn frog and force myself to make some progress, any progress. That always seems to break the bottleneck. Once in awhile you just might have to eat the frog…
Pack it and store it. We all have things that no longer serve us. These come in a variety of formats. Sometimes it’s a process or tool that just doesn’t work well anymore. Sometimes it’s stuff that begins to clutter our lives. Maybe it’s a place we once found joy in but don’t any longer. We don’t need to hang onto these things. Simply trying to hang onto them can cause overwhelm. It’s okay to pack away things that no longer serve you. Sometimes you can box them up and send them off to a good home. Other times you might just want to box them up and store them. And finally, you can pack things up and store them mentally, refusing to spend energy on things that no longer work for you. Don’t compromise on this and, it’s also okay to be a little bit brutal about it… and it’s also okay to feel a sense of loss. Ultimately, packing things away will reduce overwhelm and you’ll likely feel a whole bunch lighter.

Got some great “beat the overwhelm” tips? Send them my way!