Do you feel overwhelmed at work? You are not alone. Google Trends shows that more and more people search Google for advance about “what to do when overwhelmed at work”. This article explores the causes of feeling overwhelmed at work and talks about ways to cope with feeling overwhelmed at work.
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Feeling or being overwhelmed at work usually means a sense of stress and anxiety caused by the workload or difficulties of work, which is normal and common. Below are some common signs.
Why am I overwhelmed at work? Finding out the causes or reasons helps you find the right ways to overcome the feeling. There can be several types of causes and reasons.
There are still many other situations where employees can feel overwhelmed and stressed at work. For example, female employees have extra stress to manage during pregnancy.
The feeling of being overwhelmed can be temporary or last long. If the feeling is strong and long term, it may have negative effects on your work performance, health, family life and even more. Therefore, you need to properly deal with it.
Feeling overwhelmed is actually a choice that you make. Now choose to calm down, for a moment at least.
Identify the sources of the feeling and then ask yourself a question. Are they in or beyond your control?
Your time and actions are what you can control.
The first thing is to make a to-do list. It can include all the tasks at hand, the professional skills that you need to learn or sharpen, and the plan that you need to make for a project and more. Make them as specific as possible.
Now you need to set priorities. You can organize priorities based on the importance and urgency of things. Your time management is closely associated with your tasks and priorities.
If your workload is reasonable, then you can easily complete it during work hours with good task and time manage. This can help you stop feeling overwhelmed if the feeling is caused by too many tasks.
It’s important that you properly schedule your day for different tasks. It’s also important that you stay focused and concentrated while working. However, it’s easy for us (especially people with ADHD) to get distracted.
Luckily, there are tools and apps to help us better focus. For example, an app called Cisdem Focus can block distracting apps and websites on Mac during the focus time that a user sets. During the focus time, distractions are minimized and focus is boosted. This way, you can make the most of your focus time and improve productivity.
Some bad work habits such as procrastination and being disorganized can reduce efficiency and lead to anxiety. If you have such habits, stopping them can help.
We naturally get distracted after an amount of time spent focusing on a task. This amount of time is called attention span. Between attention spans, we can take short breaks and relax. This not only helps prevent burnout but also helps restore the energy to refocus. This is actually how the Pomodoro method works.
What if the source of your being overwhelmed at work is beyond your control? Communicate.
If the amount of work is unreasonable or the tasks given to you are beyond your responsibilities, talk to your manager or boss. Let him or her know that it’s impossible to complete the workload in the given amount of time, or that it’s not your duties to do certain tasks.
If you are suffering from anxiety and burned out, you can also talk to your boss and ask for advices. To make your boss better understand and feel your situation, let him or her know the details, be sincere and don’t complaint.
If you lack the support from your company or coworkers to successfully complete a task, just talk to your manager or boss. It’s the normal and right thing to do. Keeping feeling overwhelmed and not telling anyone doesn’t help with the situation at all.
Too many tasks? Not enough time to get things done? These are the most common causes of feeling overwhelmed at work. What are your cause(s) of the feeling? This article lists a few common causes and share tips to help you overcome the feeling by managing your time, tasks and deadlines.
Rosa has worked in Mac software industry for more than eight years. She believes that the purpose of software is to make life better and work more productively. In addition to writing, Rosa is also an avid runner.
