Tips for being less overwhelmed at work

May 25, 2021

Presenter – Dr. Bill Howatt, Jesse Adams

The course started with a quick explanation of what may cause a person to feel overwhelmed at work, including feeling one or more of the following:

• Confusion
• Conflict about priorities and what to do next
• Feeling like we have more to do than time to do it
• Concerns about failing to achieve an outcome
• Stress caused by perceived workload
• Experiencing increased interpersonal conflicts that make it harder to get work done

The session covered the importance of recognizing some of the key factors contributing to feeling overwhelmed and how to admit how you might be feeling.  Once the factors are recognized, we need to determine what is in our control by using daily self-monitoring to identify where changes can be made to our workload. Tips include:

• Get second opinions – Like the frog in the water that’s slowly heating up, you may not notice you’re at risk until it’s too late
• Put things in writing – This can help create an objective perspective on what you can stop or delay.
• Use maybe versus yes – Many of us are pleasers and will automatically say yes not to disappoint another person.
• Do your daily priorities first – Tend to your first things first before agreeing to take on more, unless it’s an emergency.