According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 80% of jobs require workers to move at a fast pace. When asked about their daily jobs, most people I speak to describe a deluge of Slack messages, urgent emails, and department directives. Then, of course, there is the daily workload they were hired to do.
It’s easy to get lost in the frenetic pace of a bustling environment, and things can fall through the cracks when that happens. Keeping up with busy work life is essential, but merely treading water in these situations can lead to burnout, declining performance, and other negative outcomes. However, there are tactics that we all can use to not only stay ahead of our daily workload but increase our agility while maintaining mental health.
Set time aside for yourself.
Fires happen, critical situations occur, and sometimes everything needs to be dropped for a customer. Of course, these things are to be expected. However, if you’re trying to weave in your daily responsibilities and special projects around whatever else comes, things can get lost in the shuffle. The simplest way to ensure that your projects move forward is to set aside time in your calendar for yourself.
Block off 30 minutes of your time so you can dedicate your attention to that task without being pulled into a meeting or call. I like to do this as my final task on Fridays. I look ahead to the next week, check my to-do list, and carve out a few times the following week to ensure forward progress on special projects, as well as daily tasks.
With that done, not only do you have the peace of mind of knowing that you’ll be making forward progress on the things you need to achieve, but you’ll also have to option to communicate to your team what you’re working on.
Create Visibility.
I love a spreadsheet. Having information neatly laid out so it’s simply populated and easily readable is relaxing to me since I know it’s been seen to. Using a spreadsheet to create accountability for yourself is a great way to translate your workload into something measurable. This also helps you organize open tasks so that when planning or meeting, you have a snapshot of what needs to be worked on without having to dig through emails, daily planners, or disparate sticky notes.
Include headers like Task, Deadline, Priority, Estimated time, Support needed, and Completed for easy filtering and sorting. Bonus points for this method since this can be used at end-of-year reviews to show quantifiable metrics on special projects!
Take your breaks.
How many times has a day gone by, and you’ve realized that you barely got up to use the restroom or take an actual lunch break? When deadlines are pressing, and new tasks keep popping up, it can feel like you can’t possibly step away from work for a moment. However, keeping your nose to the grindstone may actually be hurting you.
According to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign taking a short break from work can increase productivity, job satisfaction, creativity, and a whole lot more. If you can give yourself 5-10 minutes every hour or so to disconnect from your work completely, take a walk, or stretch, or engage in a task that works a different part of your brain, you’ll be amazed at your improved mood, and productivity when you return to the task at hand.
These aren’t the only tried and true methods for staying ahead of workplace mayhem, and there are a lot of resources out there for team leaders as well as individual contributors alike to actually flourish in a fast-paced environment. Give these ideas a shot and see how quickly things improve for you at work, and enjoy the rewards of a job well done with the added bonus of feeling good!