How to Work While Overwhelmed
A weekly roundup of the latest future of work and conscious leadership news and insights
Yesterday evening I had the opportunity to present a professional development webinar to America’s Future, an organization dedicated to the professional growth of America’s future leaders. During the presentation I talked about a few topics most of us struggle with: clarifying goals, working while distracted, carving out downtime, and working while overwhelmed. For today’s newsletter, I thought I’d share with you some of the tips on how to work while overwhelmed that I talked about during the webinar.
First, it’s important to take stock of why you feel overwhelmed. What exactly is making you feel that way? Is it too many to-do items, is it feeling emotionally drained, is it being physically exhausted? Start with the root cause so you can prevent feeling overwhelmed in the future. That means tending to your physical and emotional needs and establishing systems to help with your workflow.
Second, do a work project that’s easy and familiar. It’s like muscle memory and will give you a boost of confidence. Conversely, you can try something you haven’t done before, but have always wanted to try. It can spark your creativity and use a different part of your brain. The important thing is to not put any pressure on the outcome. Just let the creativity flow and see what happens.
Third, set realistic goals for your productivity. You may only get half of your usual work done when you’re feeling overwhelmed. That’s okay. You’re human. We can’t run a sprint or even a marathon all the time. Sometimes we just walk to catch our breath.
Fourth, make sure you don’t bottle up how you’re feeling. It’s okay to acknowledge to yourself and others how you’re feeling. Find a trusted ally at work, or a friend, or a coach and talk about what you’re experiencing. Understand that you are not alone.
For more great tips on dealing with overwhelm, check out Alice Boye’s Harvard Business Review article. Oftentimes working with a coach can help with getting to the root of overwhelm and help prevent that dreaded feeling in the future. The year 2021 promises to be just as interesting as 2020, so now is the time to develop yourself to prepare for whatever the future may hold.
Here is some of the future of work and conscious leadership content I found interesting this week:
Harvard Business Review looked at the 9 trends that will shape work in 2021 and beyond. For conscious leaders, the most encouraging trend is greater freedom for employees as managers holistically look at how to enable their teams to integrate work into life, not vice versa.
A new study found that shortening the workweek leads to less smoking and lower BMI for workers. This adds to a growing body of evidence that shortening work days and weeks have many health benefits for society overall.
Fast Company offers 4 remote practices to inspire a team’s creativity. One of my fave practices: encourage time for “nothingness.” When people have time to let their mind wander, it’s allows inspiration and innovation to flow. As a conscious leader, how are you empowering your team to prioritize “nothingness” time?
Work isn’t the only thing that’s gone remote, now we’re figuring out how to exercise at home. The new corporate perk may be home gym equipment and subscriptions to personal training via video. What will you provide for your team to ensure they’re healthy?
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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