How to Juggle a Busy Workload

A heavy workload can feel like a rocket-powered hurtle towards the wall of burnout. But you can avoid a Wile E. Coyote disaster with stress management and time management techniques.

Know Your Limits and Don’t Overreach

Maybe no one has told you, but you are only one person, and you don’t have eight arms. There’s only so much you can do. Further, there’s no evidence that working harder has any positive effects on your work. And may, in fact, have the opposite effect. So it’s no good being that one person who says yes to everything. You will end up with too much work while constantly having to wipe something from your nose. The best thing you can do is understand where your limits lie and only take on work you know you can complete comfortably.

Plan, Plan, and Plan Some More

Experts recommend you spend around 10% of your time planning your work. So, for a standard 40 hour week, that’s 4 hours of planning. It might sound like a lot. In fact, that’s a few episodes of Stranger Things. But rather than pondering multidimensional mysteries, just a few hours of planning is a massive help for the week ahead. So take note of what needs to be done, and see how much time you can allocate in the week. Take into account that you might need to factor in meetings or other things that can take time. And keep your plans within your working hours.

Use Apps to Manage Your Workload

It can be a complex task to plan your schedules and the work you need to complete. But as Apple loves to remind us, there’s an app for that. Actually, there are too many to mention. However, many of them aren’t worth, well, your time. But some of them are excellent. Despite this, less than 20% of people have a time management system. Including something called writing it down on paper, whatever that means. Moving on, work and time management apps like Toggl have features for scheduling and tracking time spent on specific tasks.

Focus on One Job at a Time

It’s common to have multiple things going on at the same time. But trying to manage multiple projects is a highly developed skill. Fortunately, you can use apps to help. But they can’t do the job for you. So it’s up to you to help yourself by focusing on one job at a time. Or you risk overwork and burnout, becoming one of the 80% of workers who feel they do too much. Additionally, you won’t spread yourself too thin. By focusing on one task, you can put all your energy and effort into it. Meaning you will give your best work before moving on to the next.

Indulge Stress Management at Home

A modern employee spends over a third of their life at work. So, essentially, you spend almost as much time doing your job than looking after your family and yourself. This makes a case for a bit of pampering at home when you can. You could find an unattended closet in the cupboard at work and go missing for ten minutes. But that’s not the same. Short of putting your feet up on your boss’s desk, you need some alone time for stress relief. At the very least, take a bath or shower. But try to spend time doing something you love, or anything that helps you relax.

Summary

Juggle a busy workload with simple methods. Don’t take on too much in the first place. And plan around the time you have. Apps can help with this. Yet you also need some time for yourself.