delegation | Karmic Ally Coaching

Work overload management – you need these 4 success secrets

Karmic Ally — Mon, 07 May 2018 23:20:00 +0000

In my early career days, I often found myself being loaded with extra tasks because my boss knew I would deliver. I had the reputation of being reliable, organized and a lot of other nice attributes but I felt overwhelmed at times and experienced work overload.

When I cribbed about it to my father, he told me I had to be more assertive and find ways to manage my work overload if required.

Then he shared a quote Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said that has stayed in my mind, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”

There are always those times in the workplace when urgent and important tasks need to be completed which can overwhelm even the most efficient and effective employee.

This doesn’t necessarily need to be at the year-end but there are those seasons and days when it all comes to a head.

Here’s a 4 step approach to effectively reduce stress, overwhelm and even avoid burnout

Overworked and overwhelmed

Take Stock of the Situation & Prioritize

Instead of going headless chicken, take stock of the situation and see if the workload can be lessened in order to give you the breathing space to concentrate on the most important task at hand.

The first step would be to find the time, preferably outside of the workplace and start making a list of all the tasks that need to be done and the stretch deadlines in free flow writing. Then mark them by numbering in terms of priority. Sometimes, simply putting things down in writing provides the required clarity and eliminates possible panic attacks.

My post, 5 tips to manage Time Targets will also help.

Delegate effectively

Once that is done, start looking at which tasks can be delegated based on the resources available to you at the office. Consider the competencies of your team members and write their names against it. Since there are deadlines, other people may also be busy and I suggest noting down, if possible, names of two colleagues whom you may ask. Do remember that the ultimate responsibility still rests with you.

If you find that your own tasks even after possible delegation is still overwhelming then consider asking your manager or immediate superior for help in prioritizing those tasks. Armed with your list, make your appointment with them to engage their assistance. Since the higher reporting rests with your supervisor, they are in a better position to further streamline the priorities to enable your workload to become more manageable.

No boss under the sun likes unpleasant surprises and by showing your commitment with your action plan you maintain your credibility and commitment. Make sure to take notes during your meeting so that you have evidence of the agreed plan of action if required later.

Build Self-Management into your daily routine

Self-management too is an area to work on to handle stress and time pressure adequately. When planning your day, make sure that you build in some ‘me time’ as well and engage in activities that help you to relax and wind down. Depending upon your personal preferences, this could include going to the gym, power walking or less high impact exercises including yoga and Pilates. Make sure that your family life is not compromised and make sure that you spend time with them. Eat sensibly and get the right amount of sleep.

Learn the art of saying ‘No’

This is one area which many of my clients find challenging. Learn to say no to those activities that are not high up in your priority list or just eat up time without any benefit.

It means establishing personal boundaries.

The bottom line is engage in activities that work for you. There may of course be times when your saying No can affect an entire process or project. So use this skill with discretion.

To sum up, while pressure and stress cannot be eliminated completely, taking steps to action areas that are within our control can help to mitigate their impact on our lives and our health.

How do you handle situations of work overload in your office? Are there any strategies or tips that you can share with me and other readers?

PS. Think you might be heading for a burnout? If yes, then I suggest you try the Burnout Self Test. This simple self-assessment will point you in the right direction along with strategies that you can starting implementing immediately. Like the saying goes, “A stitch in time saves nine”.

Written By: Vatsala Shukla

This post was originally written in June 2012 and has been updated in May 2018 for relevance and new resources for the reader.

The post Work overload management – you need these 4 success secrets first appeared on Karmic Ally Coaching.

How to delegate for Effective Time Management

Karmic Ally — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 08:42:00 +0000

Effective leaders and managers know the value of time and utilize this precious resource effectively and efficiently to create results.

Things can go haywire when our productivity is dependent on others. That is what happened with this particular client of mine.

During a recap of the previous week’s action plan with a client of mine, a new problem surfaced which he had not associated with the original need to get a grip with his time mismanagement.

A hardworking individual who managed to fit in a lot during the course of the day, but still wondered where his day went, there was utter chaos. Our common goal was to bring order back into his day so that he had a chance to step back and look at the big picture like a true business owner and leader.

A whole session of brainstorming with 22 action points was produced. The client was given the option to implement any 3 of them based on his own priorities and what he thought he could achieve. One of the actions he chose was the To Do List.

A week later, he was able to confirm that the days when he prepared his To Do list were much better and more productive for him. He was directed to celebrate and give himself a pat on the back.

But by Friday of the week, he had slipped from the wagon. He hadn’t prepared the list since his Thursday had been a day from hell.

Even with a robust To Do list, why did the day become so bad?

There were many reasons, which included putting in too many things for action.

But more importantly, there were tasks that had to be urgently completed. The employee responsible for preparing it had not done it. The excuse?

He had other things to do compelling him to go into a firefighting mode at 6 pm since the documents had to be submitted to a statutory authority.

This brings me to the point for this week on two aspects of efficient time management:

Firstly, the number of tasks on a To Do list should never be more than 8 or 10 unless the tasks can be completed quickly. More than 12 in a day is a sure way to fail and the associated feelings are not worth it.

Secondly, where a particular task requires inputs from others, make sure that the other person knows the necessity of his input to get the task done.

What may be an urgent and important task for you may be an urgent but not important task for the other person who will find ways to be busy with less important tasks which are worth doing but which are low on the priority list for you.

This is the combination of the arts of delegation and assertive behavior.

In other words, the strategy for time management where your success depends upon others requires, they be made aware of their responsibility to get the job done. Be more specific, give timelines and THEN follow up at the specific appointed time.

Do not sit down to do the task yourself but insist that it be done. Your subordinate or colleague or even family member may slip up a couple of times but the message that you are being firm and assertive will get through.

Assertiveness is a key ingredient in this type of time management.

Instead of doing the task, you have a talk with the other person. Do not ask why the task was not done, which would put the other party on the defensive. Excuses such as ‘I was busy doing other things’ or ‘Sorry, I made a mistake’ will only provoke you into further frustration and reaction which you might not like when the dust has settled.

Instead, say ‘This document/report/letter had to have gone out by the end of today. What exactly stopped you from completing the task?

The answer could be anything from their not realizing the importance or even that someone else had delegated a task to them with a clearer sense of urgency. Worse still, they might know that if they delay it long enough, they won’t have to do it since you will get around to it.

In the meantime, reassess your method of delegation. Give clear and concise instructions and set deadlines. Having been assertive, stick to your guns no matter what the provocation.

More importantly, the message that you are sending out will be clear.

As you can see, my client’s efforts at time management hit a roadblock when it came to managing others to manage his own time and he had to set up boundaries and conditions while delegating tasks.

What barriers come up for you when your productivity is dependent on other colleagues?

Are you a career professional, independently practicing professional, consultant, or freelancer who’s overwhelmed with all the tasks you need to complete during the day?

If yes, then you need to check out this course

5 Simple steps to win your Time Management Challenge

This post originally appeared on my blogger blog back in August 2011 and has since been updated for relevance.