How to Beat Overwhelm in the Workplace

small worries

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed at work moving into Q2 of 2021, we have a few tips that can help you. And I’ll avoid the long introduction to save you a few minutes.

1. Set goals and priorities

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you don’t know what you’re working toward. Establishing clear and SMART goals can go a long way in helping you feel less overwhelmed. When you have goals in place it helps you to see what your priorities are. When you have established priorities it becomes easier to see what is important to accomplish and what is simply wasting your time.

Within a company it’s important to make sure that there are overall company goals, department goals and individual goals. This helps each employee to see what their role is in the big picture which helps them to buy into the process. When you know that the work you’re doing matters in light of clear goals, it helps you work with more focused purpose.

2. Establish tasks for each goal

Many people feel that goals are overwhelming. Individuals and companies are often good at coming up with big goals that will move them in the direction they want to go. However, they fail to take the next step of breaking the goals down into actionable steps. If you miss this step, those lofty goals can end up feeling unachievable and overwhelming.

This is why you need to take each goal and brainstorm all the steps and tasks that need to be completed to help you reach that goal. When you have this list, you’ll have a clear picture of what you should be working on. This also allows you to see what tasks can be delegated to others.

3. Reevaluate your schedule

Now that you know what you priorities and goals are it’s time to take another look at your schedule and to-do list. What things are taking up time on your calendar that don’t need to be done (or don’t need to be done by you?). Networking is important for business growth but you don’t need to go to every single networking event that comes across your path. Or, once you see what tasks can be delegated, you may be able to step out of some meetings on your calendar as well.

Take a second look at your schedule to make sure that you’re not wasting time with unnecessary tasks.

4. Put tech to work for you

There are numerous ways that tech can help you feel less overwhelmed at work. Evaluate your systems and processes to see what tasks could be automated to save you time and energy. Some of the options that could help include:

  • Task management software
  • CRMs
  • Marketing automation
  • Chatbots
  • Email campaign automation

While it might feel overwhelming to implement automation in new areas of your business, it’s worth the time that you’ll get back.

5. Delegate and outsource

It’s common for leaders to struggle with delegation. You might feel that you know the best way to get things done which makes it difficult to release a task to anyone else. However, you’re going to limit the growth you can experience when you continually try to do all the work yourself.

Instead, learn how to properly delegate tasks to your employees. If you don’t have employees right look for freelancers that you can outsource the tasks to. There is no reason why you need to be doing everything that’s on your to-do list.

This is also a great lesson to carry home with you. It might make sense to pay a landscaping company to mow the yard. Or hire a house cleaner to keep up with your house. And you might want to use grocery delivery to save yourself time by not having to run to the store.

Another solution

Working with a SPEARity coach is a great way to beat overwhelm and stress in the workplace. A leadership development coach can help you move from feeling stressed to being excited about your job again. They will also teach you the SPEAR process which you can use to overcome obstacles to success. Contact us to explore your options today.

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