Managing Unsustainable Workloads
A common complaint I hear from clients is that they don’t have enough time to do their work and that their managers don’t understand why they can’t just buckle down and get it done. Sometimes I hear that the immediate manager has the same problem and has tried to persuade upper management that the department needs more resources, but has been told they will just have to make do with what they have.
I usually take a two-pronged approach when a client is struggling with unsustainable work loads. The first step is to identify low-effort stress management tools, such as setting a timer to remind you when to take breaks. Most people know that we need breaks in order to be at our best, but under pressure we may try to power through, urging ourselves to work harder or longer. That may be possible for a day or two or in a short crunch time on a project, but all too soon we find ourselves spending more time redoing rushed and inaccurate work or we realize too late that we could have streamlined our efforts if we had taken the time to plan ahead. It’s more effective to build positive habits that sustain us for the long term.
I also ask clients what they do to re-energize themselves outside of work hours, so we can brainstorm ways to add refreshment to their lives, including into their work days. Many clients sheepishly reply that they used to have physical, artistic, or social activities, but that they have increasingly neglected those practices under the pressure of work schedules. Too many of us succumb to this common temptation in our work-obsessed society, which ends up being profoundly unproductive, because we need such activities to cultivate and sustain our creative and intellectual capacities. Joy Breaks could be a great way to reintroduce these activities to your daily rhythm.
The second step is to identify more useful ways of using our time. For example, we know that it can take up to 25 minutes to regain full focus after an interruption, so it’s important to preserve sizable chunks of time for projects. “Time-blocking” is an excellent way to do this: Block out at least 90 minutes on your calendar on a regular basis, and devote those times to the parts of your work that require deep focus, such as research, writing, and planning. Some people manage their entire calendar in blocks; others prefer a mix of deep focus blocks and more fluid periods when they can handle smaller tasks or follow up with colleagues or customers. What’s important about this concept is recognizing the cost of interruptions, including the self-generated interruptions of shifting gears too rapidly.
If your manager and colleagues are also interested in better work habits, or if you are the manager, it can make a big difference to designate certain hours of the week as “meeting time,” with the rest dedicated to focused work on individual projects. Similarly, recognizing that immediate responses to email or messaging should not be expected significantly reduces the interruption factor at work. Your email signature may indicate when you will reply, either by identifying specific times of the day when you read and respond to emails or a time period, such as end of day or 24 hours. Alternatively, you can set up an autoresponse that lets people know their message has been received.
These approaches assume you have at least some control over how you organize your work and your time. If you find that management truly can’t or won’t work on such solutions, you may need to develop an exit strategy to join a wiser organization or better-managed department. One current client has recently taken early retirement from an organization which has changed for the worse as management has changed. Another is negotiating for a move into another department after a new manager took over her team. Just knowing that you are taking steps to relieve the pressure can boost your energy in the short run and give you the perspective to look for a more functional workplace.
I do encounter people who feel truly trapped, who cannot imagine a better working environment or don’t see how they can find the energy for an exit strategy. While I sympathize, I know that despair or cynicism is often a symptom of burnout. When someone expresses helplessness about meetings that appear on their calendar or unrealistic deadlines, I ask how long this has been a problem and what has changed to make it so difficult. Thinking about variables in this way can counteract burnout or even open people’s eyes to lifelong patterns of helplessness. Then we can devise ways to explore what would work better. You may not be in charge of your workplace, but all of my clients do have the ability to broaden their perspective, to recognize that they do have a measure of agency even under difficult circumstances, and to take action that makes a difference in their work life.