| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. 12:37 - Jan 27 with 2301 views | Lord_Lucan |
Say you have multiple projects on the go and you are spinning a bit.
You are working on project 1 but you can't concentrate as you keep thinking about project 2, so you start on project 2 but then start thinking about project 3.
Never used to have this problem so now I'm wondering if I genuinely have too much on my plate or if I am burnt out? It's impossible to concentrate and I have found myself on here today which is the last place I should be as I haven't got the time. |  |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:48 - Jan 27 with 1787 views | SenatorBlue |
Had this from time to time, in peak trade periods, or when project delivery bottleneck. It’s a nightmare, and found myself awake a night thinking about the things being left. In the end scheduling time for all, on a priority basis, worked. At least you know you’ve booked time for the others, so you can concentrate on the one in hand. If that’s not possible, then it’s a word with the boss to delegate one or more projects to another, or if you’re the boss, make a call.
Not as easy as it sounds when in the mire. Just sharing it, like you have here, often is enough too. |  | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:54 - Jan 27 with 1748 views | Lord_Lucan |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:48 - Jan 27 by SenatorBlue |
Had this from time to time, in peak trade periods, or when project delivery bottleneck. It’s a nightmare, and found myself awake a night thinking about the things being left. In the end scheduling time for all, on a priority basis, worked. At least you know you’ve booked time for the others, so you can concentrate on the one in hand. If that’s not possible, then it’s a word with the boss to delegate one or more projects to another, or if you’re the boss, make a call.
Not as easy as it sounds when in the mire. Just sharing it, like you have here, often is enough too. |
I have a big problem with delegating as I don't believe people can do things as good as me - although in reality they are probably better in certain things. | |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:57 - Jan 27 with 1723 views | clive_baker |
I've been there. I did professional exams in the past and sometimes did 3 at once, I found I spent more time flapping about not revising for exam 2 or 3 while I was trying to study for exam 1 that it became a waste of time. One point I even did a study timetable which I made look nice and took about 2 hours. I remember thinking I could've just spent that time actually revising. I do believe in the 'fail to prepare, prepare to fail' mantra, but there's a definite balance between prep and getting on and doing. My old boss was ex corporate / consultancy and used to need a f***ing 'deck' for everything. Drawing out the critical paths and that. Many of the things would've been quicker to just do and get off our plate.
If I have multiple things on the go try and clear some of the easy wins where you can. Its satisfying ticking them off and you might feel things seem a bit more managable once your list is smaller.
Don't suppose that dirty burger helps either. In all seriousness I do find diet impacts my 'performance' so much. So I would say looking after and fuelling your body is one thing, from a physcial point of view. Getting enough sleep is another, I've been bad for that in the past. |  |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:58 - Jan 27 with 1720 views | SenatorBlue |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:54 - Jan 27 by Lord_Lucan |
I have a big problem with delegating as I don't believe people can do things as good as me - although in reality they are probably better in certain things. |
Snap!
But then your last line provides the answer. Delegate, they’ll surprise you, helps them, and you’ll have someone trusted to lean on in future. Better they do the legwork and you advise and support, than you sink, which helps no one. The worst that happens is they make a mistake, you help, and they learn, get better for next time. | | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:59 - Jan 27 with 1713 views | Parsley |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:54 - Jan 27 by Lord_Lucan |
I have a big problem with delegating as I don't believe people can do things as good as me - although in reality they are probably better in certain things. |
Sounds familiar, but sometimes you can't do everything! I'd echo the advice from SenatorBlue, prioritise the tasks and focus on one at a time. Then you can start to tick them off and it doesn't seem so daunting. If it really can't be done by someone else and it isn't realistic in the timescale then ask for an extension, it's not always easy but people can be understanding if you give them plenty of notice.
(I say this while procrastinating from multiple tasks I haveto do.) |  | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:02 - Jan 27 with 1674 views | Rozz |
Until very recently, I project managed the design, development & manufacture of product ranges for luxury interiors market. I'd often have 3 or 4 ranges on the go with 20 SKU's each.
Procrastinating on here (when WFH) and having to work late to catch up is my self destructive behaviour - always has been, since university. It's avoidance I find stems from being a bit overwhelmed.
I take half an hour each day now to physically write down the things going on in each project, calls & meetings for that day, tasks I need to complete in rough order of priority. Anything not checked off rolls into tomorrow. I accept that 2hrs minimum is going to be spent on ad hoc requests or issues. Trello is a good tool for this online if you don't enjoy writing the same things out day after day (as I do).
Sounds daft in terms of burnout, but I'm not adverse to taking a couple of hours on a Sunday just to really get my head around my week if we've got loads on. Really helps focus my efforts and avoid the Monday morning brain fog. |  | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:08 - Jan 27 with 1625 views | EJP |
You are Sue Gray and I claim my slice of birthday cake…. |  | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:10 - Jan 27 with 1608 views | Lord_Lucan |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:02 - Jan 27 by Rozz |
Until very recently, I project managed the design, development & manufacture of product ranges for luxury interiors market. I'd often have 3 or 4 ranges on the go with 20 SKU's each.
Procrastinating on here (when WFH) and having to work late to catch up is my self destructive behaviour - always has been, since university. It's avoidance I find stems from being a bit overwhelmed.
I take half an hour each day now to physically write down the things going on in each project, calls & meetings for that day, tasks I need to complete in rough order of priority. Anything not checked off rolls into tomorrow. I accept that 2hrs minimum is going to be spent on ad hoc requests or issues. Trello is a good tool for this online if you don't enjoy writing the same things out day after day (as I do).
Sounds daft in terms of burnout, but I'm not adverse to taking a couple of hours on a Sunday just to really get my head around my week if we've got loads on. Really helps focus my efforts and avoid the Monday morning brain fog. |
I work 6 days and would love to work on Sundays but my Mrs moans at me if I do. Having said that I work from home on Mondays and Tuesdays and I don't get as much done as I should, I find WFH very difficult. The grandkids might be there and I like to get involved with them or I could be talking with a big customer or supplier and Mrs will produce a coat rack that immediately needs drilling to the wall.
I just went to do a simple job, decided it wasn't important enough to do right now and spent the same time on here talking sh1te! | |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:24 - Jan 27 with 1554 views | Rozz |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:10 - Jan 27 by Lord_Lucan |
I work 6 days and would love to work on Sundays but my Mrs moans at me if I do. Having said that I work from home on Mondays and Tuesdays and I don't get as much done as I should, I find WFH very difficult. The grandkids might be there and I like to get involved with them or I could be talking with a big customer or supplier and Mrs will produce a coat rack that immediately needs drilling to the wall.
I just went to do a simple job, decided it wasn't important enough to do right now and spent the same time on here talking sh1te! |
As others have said then, it might be time to delegate some of the lesser tasks to mere mortals! You already do 6 days, and you can't expect to be fire and brimstone for every hour of them either.
I too am absolutely shocking with boundaries at home, and I've spent long enough on here today already eagerly awaiting the release of more MK tickets. Best of luck! | | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:41 - Jan 27 with 1495 views | giant_stow |
Yes, my whole working life is plate-spinning. I knock out websites, host them and keep them updated, which means that people I've not heard from for ages can demand an urgent update (if they're on a contract) or if a site goes to sh1t, I have to drop everything again. And the more sites I build, the more people can tell me to drop everything - the to do list just grows.
Mrs ullaa says I need to take someone on, but like you, I can't bare the thought of a whole other chunk of work in managing someone else
Bit of bind really - if you come up with an answer, let me know!
(And that answer can't be outsource to the sub-continent as I seem to pick up a lot of work from people who've been disappointed by others doing that.) [Post edited 27 Jan 2022 13:43]
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:47 - Jan 27 with 1439 views | NBVJohn |
I have had this problem previously and fully expect to again at some point.
Firstly, delegate what you can, investing time into bringing your delegate properly up to speed - they will do a better job. In my experience, delegation fails when the project is chucked over the fence.
Once you have delegated all I can, my personal approach is to take one of the projects and throw some serious time at it in order to clear the decks and my head, giving me regular work time to concentrate on the other project. I work well under pressure but I cannot function effectively in panic mode.
If you are not careful, the downside can be that the boss see’s you’re in control and tries to give you more. Be tactical, only you need to know that it’s complete. Hold things back if necessary and don’t be too far ahead of deadlines, but above all don’t be afraid to say no! |  | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:56 - Jan 27 with 1419 views | Churchman |
You are possibly dealing with more than you ever used to, you might be tired, you might just be going through a phase of not working as effectively as you usually do - a bit ‘off form’. It’s nothing to worry about. It happens to everyone. How to deal with it?
Well, in my world, Projectland, I found the busier I was, the more organised I made myself become. This helped. Going to basics like daily priority lists, keeping subordinate lists of everything to be done over the next month, keeping Outlook up to date, charts, keeping colleagues informed of my priorities, you name it.
Important for me was at the end of each day and the week to review and tick off what I’d done, including silly trivial things like filing and shredding. It made me feel better. It’s more important to recognise what you have done than what you haven’t - if you’ve prioritised and people know where you are at, it’s not a problem.
Wherever I could I delegated. I long since accepted it might not be exactly what I wanted but I always put time into people, however busy I was, for long term pay back. This included mentoring at the end of my time.
I kind of adopted the Japanese style mental method of putting everything I had to do in little boxes and put them on the mental shelf, taking one box at a time down to deal with. The busier I was the more organised my desk and work screens. Papers? They would not be on my desk if I wasn’t working on them. The others would be at my feet or in a cupboard.
However busy, I always made time for people and tried not to show any stress or annoyance. I made a conscious effort with this and it’s difficult but beneficial. The more the volume of work the more the discipline.
If I had to do work in private time, e.g. say a Sunday I’d strictly allocate a chunk of time and a particular task and stick to it. Everyone needs switch off.
I rarely took lunch hours - the nature of the work precluded that, but I was careful to take short breaks every so often for a sandwich or to go out, coffee with a chum etc just to switch off, catch up on TWTD, news etc.
This is just a few thoughts on how I approached things. Everyone is different but continued stress is not to be trivialised or ignored in terms of one’s health so a rethink/review of how one works when one is feeling it will do no harm. [Post edited 27 Jan 2022 14:15]
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:57 - Jan 27 with 1412 views | fabian_illness |
My whole working life revolves around lists.
Each project or job has a list of things to complete.
You cross them out as you do them, gives you a sense of achievement and let’s you see what you’ve done and what you haven’t.
At least if you do bits of projects 1, 2 and 3 you can see some progress on paper.
Sounds very underwhelming but it’s always worked for me. |  | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 14:08 - Jan 27 with 1357 views | Argyle_blue |
Haha. Sounds like my life at the moment. Im finding it effortful to switch tasks all the time - takes up a lot of cognitive load. It’s also really effortful to come up with a plan which your brain is constantly doing and redoing as you plan out tasks. A behaviourist psychologist might call the sort of stuff I’m doing - replying to you rather than doing work - a displacement activity. I think what I realised is I didn’t have too much work but too little time. I managed to renegotiate to realistic timescales and people didn’t mind as long as they knew when it was coming. I’ve also been trying to get in some exercise and meditation - both of which have made me more productive. But not that productive obviously as I’m in here. |  | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 14:25 - Jan 27 with 1283 views | Father_Jack |
My advice would be to leave the squalid private sector and come and work in the civil service where it's party, party, party. |  |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:37 - Jan 27 with 1170 views | Darth_Koont |
Almost all of my projects run at the same time and I might have 6 or 7 on the go, or at least floating around in my head.
Break everything down into individual tasks. Rate them by priority and time/effort needed.
Then do the most important small tasks. After that the less important small tasks.
Then the most important big tasks. By then you’re probably ready to do another list as the tasks and their priorities will have changed.
This is a good way of getting stuff done but it’s also the best way I’ve found of clearing brain space and focusing. Plus the less important big tasks are often a waste of time and effort, and still cause just as much brain clutter. |  |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:42 - Jan 27 with 1151 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 12:54 - Jan 27 by Lord_Lucan |
I have a big problem with delegating as I don't believe people can do things as good as me - although in reality they are probably better in certain things. |
Then two tips for you to take or leave as you please:
1. Make a list of types of job by the skills they require. Rank your employees in order for each category.
Then line up the jobs you are swamped by next to the relevant category and decide which of the eg 3 jobs you currently have on your plate you would be happiest to delegate to the number 1 person in that category.
2. My Dad was a very experienced local and then Regional Manager. He always said "When you have a new job to do, give it to the laziest person because they will find the easiest way to do it!" | | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:47 - Jan 27 with 1118 views | hoppy |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:41 - Jan 27 by giant_stow |
Yes, my whole working life is plate-spinning. I knock out websites, host them and keep them updated, which means that people I've not heard from for ages can demand an urgent update (if they're on a contract) or if a site goes to sh1t, I have to drop everything again. And the more sites I build, the more people can tell me to drop everything - the to do list just grows.
Mrs ullaa says I need to take someone on, but like you, I can't bare the thought of a whole other chunk of work in managing someone else
Bit of bind really - if you come up with an answer, let me know!
(And that answer can't be outsource to the sub-continent as I seem to pick up a lot of work from people who've been disappointed by others doing that.) [Post edited 27 Jan 2022 13:43]
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To be fair, I should think the extra digits probably come in handy with the plate spinning? |  |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:49 - Jan 27 with 1110 views | SaleAway |
What I like to do, especially when tiling floors, is to just let the odd project slip by a day, so I can catch up elsewhere. Most customers aren't that bothered, especially if its not the main bathroom, and that allows me to finish up the other things that I'm late on. Don't tell them you're not coming though, always let them chase up. | |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:49 - Jan 27 with 1108 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:47 - Jan 27 by hoppy |
To be fair, I should think the extra digits probably come in handy with the plate spinning? |
That and the fact that he has a staff of hundreds, what with it being a family firm. | | | |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:53 - Jan 27 with 1080 views | giant_stow |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 15:49 - Jan 27 by ArnoldMoorhen |
That and the fact that he has a staff of hundreds, what with it being a family firm. |
If only (and you're a pair of brutes). | |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 16:08 - Jan 27 with 1048 views | Lord_Lucan |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 13:41 - Jan 27 by giant_stow |
Yes, my whole working life is plate-spinning. I knock out websites, host them and keep them updated, which means that people I've not heard from for ages can demand an urgent update (if they're on a contract) or if a site goes to sh1t, I have to drop everything again. And the more sites I build, the more people can tell me to drop everything - the to do list just grows.
Mrs ullaa says I need to take someone on, but like you, I can't bare the thought of a whole other chunk of work in managing someone else
Bit of bind really - if you come up with an answer, let me know!
(And that answer can't be outsource to the sub-continent as I seem to pick up a lot of work from people who've been disappointed by others doing that.) [Post edited 27 Jan 2022 13:43]
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We have six websites and the only one that isn't operational is our most important one and I think that is the one thing that is bugging me - mainly because it's a bit of an involved upgrade and to be honest I don't understand it - it's above my head. I am struggling to explain to the developer what he needs to do - even though it's in the final stages.
For three of the sites (ecommerce for joe public) we have outsourced SEO and Google ads to India and it's a breeze.
Mookamoo does our graphic stuff and some web changes on a couple of sites, he's always busy but does our stuff in a flash - he's brilliant.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm either burnt out or bored, or both. I only function at 100% capacity when I have a potentially disastrous situation going down and things have been relatively crisis free for a couple of years. | |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 16:14 - Jan 27 with 1027 views | homer_123 |
Do you 'need' to do all three projects?
I've got to the point where I'll only take on projects I need or want to do. |  |
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| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 16:16 - Jan 27 with 1017 views | giant_stow |
| Genuine question for people who have too much work on their plate. on 16:08 - Jan 27 by Lord_Lucan |
We have six websites and the only one that isn't operational is our most important one and I think that is the one thing that is bugging me - mainly because it's a bit of an involved upgrade and to be honest I don't understand it - it's above my head. I am struggling to explain to the developer what he needs to do - even though it's in the final stages.
For three of the sites (ecommerce for joe public) we have outsourced SEO and Google ads to India and it's a breeze.
Mookamoo does our graphic stuff and some web changes on a couple of sites, he's always busy but does our stuff in a flash - he's brilliant.
I've come to the conclusion that I'm either burnt out or bored, or both. I only function at 100% capacity when I have a potentially disastrous situation going down and things have been relatively crisis free for a couple of years. |
Hats off to Mookamoo - hard to be busy *and* super responsive. Maybe you're one of his favorite clients? (I know it shouldn't matter, but the people I personally like always get bumped up the list and visa versa).
Is it ok if I PM you to ask about who does your SEO (if they're reliable, that would be interesting for one of two or my punters).?
Re your last para, you could be right - perhaps you've just had enough of this business and its time to start a new one? Or some sort of job where you're always in crisis mode? [Post edited 27 Jan 2022 16:17]
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