Feeling Overwhelmed at Work? Start by Writing Down Everything You Do.

“I didn’t realize I was doing all of this.”

Those were the words of a woman I was coaching a while back. I’ll call her Marie.

Marie and I were talking because she felt stuck and wasn’t sure what to do. She was looking for another perspective. So she called me.

She was overwhelmed and feeling like she was starting to burn out. Sadly, Marie used to truly enjoy her job, but that was no longer the case.

She was still doing outstanding work, but she now dreaded coming to work.

Marie felt like she was always behind and it was impossible for her to ever catch up.

I could see the deep discouragement on her face and hear it in her voice as she talked about wanting to get even a little bit of her time back. She would have been thrilled to find a way to reduce her workload by a few hours each week. But she was at the point where she would have been happy with recovering just a few minutes because she was missing out on what she enjoyed doing away from work.

Marie loved her dog, Frank. And she hated coming home to him later and later each night. And with less and less energy to play with him.

The job that once brought her fulfillment was now draining her of all her energy.

It wasn’t a good situation for Marie. Or for Frank.

Maybe you’ve been where Marie was. I know I have.

And to be honest, it sucks.

Thankfully Marie didn’t stay stuck where she was.

And if you’re also feeling like your work task list is starting to dominate your life, you don’t have to stay in the situation you’re in either. There’s hope.

Here’s the first step I had Marie take to start regaining control of her time and energy so she could enjoy her life again. And so could Frank.

I simply asked her to write down all the tasks she was doing.

You might be tempted to think that such a basic activity couldn’t possibly help fix such a painful problem.

Marie was skeptical at first too.

But she did it anyway.

And that’s when she said:

“I didn’t realize I was doing all of this.”

Up until that point, she hadn’t paused long enough to think about where she was spending her time. And she certainly hadn’t slowed down to ponder how she ended up in this difficult situation.

When I asked her to explain what she was feeling, Marie said she was surprised by how much she was doing. That encouraged her.

But she also felt like everyone was taking her time by asking her to do things for them.

Through our conversation, she concluded that part of her interpretation was correct.

People were asking her to do things.

And why wouldn’t they?

She was incredibly talented, and she consistently delivered excellent results.

So it was natural for people throughout the business to come to Marie with requests.

But as we talked about these interactions with her coworkers, Marie began to realize her perspective wasn’t completely accurate.

Other people weren’t taking her time. She was giving it to them.

Writing down her work and talking through it helped her realize this.

When she saw the list, right there in black and white, of all the tasks that were consuming her time, she recognized several things.

One observation was that many of them weren’t in her job description. Another was that there were projects on her list that she’d never discussed with her supervisor or analyzed to confirm that they were valuable investments of her time.

Then there was a set of activities that stood out to Marie and really bothered her.

Those were things that she never should have said yes to.

But she did. Because that’s the kind of person Marie is. She likes to help people. And when she can do something for someone else, she likes to do it.

As we talked, she admitted that her tendency to always say yes was harming her. She was feeling it mentally and physically.

As Marie and I dug deeper into the list of activities that were draining her energy, she had another realization.

She recognized that her over-helpfulness was harming other people too.

She pointed out how some of the tasks she took on were the responsibilities of other coworkers. She wasn’t doing them occasionally to help out another team member when they were in a bind. That’s how it started. But now she was doing these tasks for them all the time.

Marie was doing work that they were being paid to do!

This led her to make two decisions.

First, she needed to stop consistently doing work that someone else was responsible for. This was an integrity issue for Marie.

Second, she wasn’t going to just stop helping them and leave her coworkers to figure things out. She knew this wouldn’t be good for her teammate or the business. And Marie recognized that she may be partially responsible for creating this relationship because she may not have set and communicated clear boundaries with those she was now supporting too much.

So she put together a plan to talk openly and honestly with each person who should be owning a task that was currently on her list.

Some of those conversations were easier than others.

Many of her coworkers agreed with Marie and eagerly took back the work they had unintentionally let fall to her.

Some were frustrated, not at Marie but because their own task lists were already causing them to feel overloaded. Marie was quick to share the same technique that was helping her manage her overwhelming situation.

And a few coworkers who didn’t share Marie’s integrity and character did their best to talk her into continuing to do the work that they should be doing.

Marie didn’t budge.

The effort she put into documenting her tasks gave her the courage to stand strong. She wasn’t willing to continue to do work that wasn’t hers to do.

Marie had become convinced that being competent and having a strong desire to serve others did not mean that she had to be pushing herself to the point of physical and mental exhaustion.

She now felt the freedom to say no to work that didn’t belong on her plate and yes to going home at a reasonable hour and playing with Frank.

You may identify with Marie’s story and wish you could get some things off your task list so you could be home more with your loved ones too.

If you do, I’ll give you the same suggestion I gave Marie.

Take a few minutes to pause and write down all the things you’re doing. Then review those tasks to see what should remain on your list and what needs to be removed.

Like Marie, you may find work that doesn’t belong to you and can be returned to its rightful owner.

I hope that’s the case, so you can reclaim a little more of your time for yourself and the people and the dog you love. Or cat. Or even sheep…

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

P.S. If it would be valuable for you to have me provide an outside perspective like I did for Marie, you’re welcome to schedule a time here for us to chat. I’d love to be a part of helping you get some of your time back.