“Joel helped me identify and draw parameters between work and life, as well as maintain a balance during intense situations. I now have greater focus, clarity and purpose in my work.”
Lynne Faulks, Manager, Legislative Relations,CALIFORNIA TEACHER’S ASSOCIATION
Gabrielle had been working to take on the types of responsibilities needed to move up the ladder for a promotion. She was striving to increase her visibility by taking on high-profile projects. About a month in, however, she felt completely overwhelmed with work. She’d taken on two new projects that made up nearly half of her workload. Trying to balance everything, she felt terrified of failing and leaving her boss with the impression that she just wasn’t leadership material. She found herself bringing home a mountain of work every weekend in an effort to get herself back on track—which of course never happened.
If you’ve been working to take on increased responsibility, you’ve probably felt like Gabrielle at times. You’re working to increase your output and the caliber of the projects you carry out, building visibility and influence while excelling in your current job. Like Gabrielle, you might find yourself asking if you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.
These days, everyone is trying to do more with less. Your company and your boss are probably no exception. And on the flip side, you feel compelled to perform like a superstar so you won’t be on the receiving end of the next round of pink slips.
How do you stand out from the crowd while still maintaining a healthy life balance and avoiding potential burnout? It’s time to strategize about how to balance your workload. Whether you’re preparing to take on increased responsibilities or you’ve already taken that step, let’s look at six key questions that will help you tame the chaos in your schedule.
What are your key objectives for your current job?
You definitely don’t want to sacrifice your performance in your current job to your important high-profile projects. Lest you get sidetracked from the important work of your current role, list your main objectives for your job. Next, list all of the tasks you do on a regular basis. Then list each task beneath the corresponding objective. Do any tasks not fit under one of the objectives? If so, ask yourself if those ones are really necessary. Post your objectives somewhere visible to help you stay on track with your current job as you delve into higher-level projects.
How can you make more time in your schedule?
It may be time to delegate some of the work that’s on your plate. After all, the only way to clear more time for the high-profile projects is to eliminate some of the lower-order ones. Consider whether you can create a more efficient process for handling certain tasks. For example, lead management becomes easier with software that streamlines the whole process. If you clarify and tighten up a process that you want to delegate to one of your subordinates, it will become that much easier to hand off, too!
Here are five essential ways for freeing up time in your schedule. Each of them will prove vital at one time or another.
1 – Negotiate incoming assignments.
If you receive a ton of information when your manager gives you a new project, assignment, or task, what should you do? Apply this two-step process.
- Step 1. Ask your manager why this is so critical. The answer will help you understand the importance of the new task in relation to everything else you are working on and enable you to decide how best to use your time.
- Step 2. Ask yourself these questions: “Do I have to get it done today?” “What are the consequences of not getting it done today?” “Can I push it back to another time?” “Is it as important as the other projects and assignments I am working on already?”
2 – Restructure your workload.
If your workload is too demanding, ask your manager to help you rebalance the load. This means discussing all that you have on your plate—all your responsibilities and job duties—and finding a strategy to rebalance your workload so you’ll have less to do. Others might take on some of your responsibilities so you’ll be able to focus on the areas that will help you and the company become more profitable and successful.
3 – Set realistic expectations with your boss.
Before you accept any new project, make sure the expectations that come with the project are realistic and fair. Make sure it seems feasible for you to carry out in light of your current workload. Discuss the expected outcomes for the project, and if you have any confusion about how to achieve them, talk about your concerns with your boss.
4 – Just say no.
Many of us hesitate to say no and set clear defined boundaries because we fear rejection. Why? We believe we must please everyone to be seen as successful. This mentality actually gets in the way of our ability to be effective in our work, however. I had a client who said yes to all of her projects so others would be impressed with her capabilities. Her plate was getting more and more full. As others began relying on her more, a trap of unrealistic expectations began to take shape. The quality of her work began to decline, along with her productivity. She was saying yes to so many different things that it was undermining her success in the areas that garnered the most recognition and related most strongly to her role. If you please everyone all the time, it means you are saying yes to everyone. Begin saying no more often. Learning to say no takes practice, like building up a muscle. Do this regularly, and then when you really need to say no, you’ll know how to do it.
5 – Delegate, delegate, delegate.
Delegate tasks to your direct reports as much as possible. The more things you can get off your plate and onto someone else’s, the easier it will be to stay balanced. Otherwise, the amount of responsibility and tasks that need to get done will become enormous. Even if none of your direct reports can handle certain assignments, you may still be able to delegate some of your tasks. You could ask your boss to give some of your lower-priority responsibilities to others on the team so you can tend to the most important ones. Your peers may have more bandwidth or ability to get a certain project or assignment done than you currently have. By delegating to them, you are improving the productivity of your organization and team.
Eliminating other time traps is essential as well. Don’t answer each voicemail or email the moment it comes in, and change your open-door policy to set office hours.
When will you carry out the high-profile projects?
As you reprioritize, put high-priority work first. Assign yourself larger chunks of time for project planning and execution. That will give you enough time to wrap your brain around what you’re doing, get into strategy mode, and make noticeable progress. Schedule this work for the times when you do your best thinking. Make it as consistent as possible—three afternoons a week, for instance.
How will you optimize your time and reduce the workload so you spend time on high-profile projects?
Find ways to recharge by enhancing your work/life balance before you launch into your high-profile project time. Take a walk as you let the creative juices start flowing. Rehydrate. Eat a healthy snack. By nourishing your brain and body, you’ll let the great ideas flow.
Transcend your limitations to engage in visionary thinking, asking yourself these questions:
- “What ideas would I implement if I were CEO of this company?”
- “What would have the greatest impact on our overall performance?”
- “What new strategies for carrying out this project could we explore?”
Some of your ideas may feel risky, but that’s the point. Anything worthwhile breaks new ground and risks not being accepted by everyone. It also has the potential to take the organization to places most people never thought it could go. Without making your ideas heard, you’d never find out.
How will you demonstrate leadership in your high-visibility projects?
Tackling large projects alone is a surefire way to stress yourself out. It’s time to start managing projects like the leader you are. Built a cross-functional team to carry out your great idea. By this point, hopefully you’ve already been building a rapport with people across departments, so you can call upon them at moments like this. Get them excited about your project, describing how it will benefit them individually and assuring them that you’ll give credit where it’s due. Smart colleagues will want to join a winning team, knowing it will raise their visibility too!
Are you prepared to carry out all of your ideas?
To keep your workload balanced, know your limits and unveil your ideas strategically. If you have five ideas that you’d love to pursue, you might want to pitch your best two first. Share the ones you have time and energy to implement—and the ones that could give you the broadest exposure. Otherwise, you could see coworkers carrying out one of your great ideas because you simply didn’t have time to do it all. There are certainly worse situations to be in—if others believe in your ideas, it shows you have influence. But if you become more distanced from that project, you’ll probably receive less credit for it in the long-run. You may want to keep it in your back pocket until you’ve brought other projects to fruition, so you can take the lead on it.
As you begin to do the job you want, rather than the job you have, you’ll find deeper fulfillment in your work. Study leadership techniques to strengthen your leadership skills and executive presence. And remember, as people increasingly turn to you for input or assistance, say yes to only the opportunities you have time and energy for. The number one person you’re accountable to is you!
As Gabrielle answered these questions to herself, she gained clarity on what was most important in her work. She told her boss that she needed to assemble a team for each of the new projects she’d taken on, and her boss got on board. Working in a project manager capacity rather than trying to do it all singlehandedly meant she got her weekends back. But in the future, she vowed to take on one new high-profile project at a time rather than two, so she could avoid unnecessary stress and give the project her all!
Reducing your workload is the key to taking on important high-level Projects
The pressures and demands of work may seem overwhelming, but changing your attitude, learning to say no, and negotiating with management and coworkers to decrease your workload will make a tremendous difference. You’ll become less stressed at work, and you’ll find your job vastly more satisfying. As your life/work balance improves, you’ll become more effective, more productive, and more valuable to your team. And instead of feeling trapped, you’ll finally be free to focus on the things that matter most.
Joel loves helping his clients achieve the career advancement opportunities they deserve. In fact, he’s been doing that for over 20 years. Contact him today to begin your career progression. You might also read Joel’s books Time Management Mastery and Are You Always Stressed and Hurrying at Work? for more advice on achieving a balanced life.
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