2020 is a year that for many is one to forget. COVID-19 has changed much and for many. For those fortunate to retain their role, there seems more than ever too much to do, and not enough time to do it in. Remote working, lack of human contact and juggling home life might mean there's a good chance that at some point in 2020, you found yourself feeling overwhelmed, overworked and over-stressed. And "zoomed" out!

With 2021 fast approaching, it may be the perfect time to take a step back and reflect.

The more you understand about the threat of overwhelm, the more you can take productive action to handle it.

1. Plan and Organise

Perhaps the easiest way to stop career demands from getting on top of you is to make sure that you're prepared for almost anything.

While using your precious time for planning can seem counterproductive, it's helpful to put a strategic spin on your scrambled schedule. Whether you need a plan to update your skills or you need to figure out how to manage your next big project, merely writing things down and deciding which order you're going to approach them in, might be enough to make your life a lot easier.

Prepping your schedule forces you to put things into perspective, and determine exactly what you need to get done today, tomorrow, and this week, as well as which tasks you can delegate elsewhere.

2. Ask for Help When You Need It

In a world where every company seems to be short on technology skills, you might notice that your manager has started to pile more responsibilities on you than you know how to handle.

Remember, it's easy for managers to lose perspective when they have a lot of goals to achieve, and not enough skilled employees to help them reach success.

Telling your boss that you're having problems handling everything you've got on your plate may cause your employer to sit up and take notice of just how much weight you have on your shoulders. Remember, don't just complain about the workload, think about how you might be able to make your own life easier.

For instance, can you delegate less specialist tasks, or improve your productivity with new technology?

3. Take a Break and Escape the Home Office

Staring at a computer screen for several hours a day can be overwhelming, even at home. If simple lines of code are starting to look like nonsense even to you, this indicates that you need to give yourself, and your brain a break. When stress levels are high, it's hard to concentrate on anything that's happening in your professional environment.

While it's easy to convince yourself that you ‘just’ need to buckle down and push through, the truth is that giving yourself a few minutes of fresh air can help you to accomplish tasks faster, and more accurately than you would if you just kept typing.

Walk around the office, grab a glass of water, or simply stand up and move around for a moment. This will give your mind a chance to reboot itself, then get back to the task at hand.

4. Know When to Say No!

Whatever your role, there's a good chance you're always looking for ways to demonstrate your value to the organisation you work for. However, that doesn't mean piling work onto your to-do list until you burn out!

While the concept of saying "no" to your manager might be enough to fill you with a sense of dread, it's important to remember that you're only human, and he or she understands that fact. If you can give a good reason as to why you can't do something, then they'll probably do what they can to assign the project elsewhere or make the task easier for you to handle.

5. Try Something New

Finally, if no matter how much you ask for help you continuously find yourself feeling stressed and exhausted at work, then you might need to re-think your career path, or it may just be that you need to work with a company that shares the same values and expectations as you.

When searching for a new position, remember to keep an eye out for signs of a culture that could fit your working style. There are plenty of review sites available online today, and specialist recruitment agencies that can help you to discover the opportunity that's the right fit for you.

About Inspire People

We believe that technology has the power to change the world for the better and we love working with businesses whose technology or purpose has a positive impact. We help businesses that share our vision access the people, resources and strategic advice they need to achieve their digital transformation goals.

Our service is designed to accelerate your digital growth. We created our offer in response to emerging challenges in an uncertain business landscape: a blend of Advisory, Talent and Project led services that will help you achieve your strategic aims and deliver more for your employees and customers. We’ll connect you to rare specialist talent, experts and insight to help you navigate your biggest challenges and remain competitive in a changed world.

Get in touch today to discover how working with us could help you innovate and grow.

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