What to do if you feel like you have too many work responsibilities

Almost everyone has cravings, I guess. But working in high-stress mode constantly is a sure way to burnout. Alas, only a quarter of Russian office workers have ever don't linger longer than expected. Others know what recycling is.

If you have to work hard for three days or a week, you know it's okay. After all, then in a calm mode it will be possible to relax and recuperate. But if every day you have to act at the limit and there is no end in sight, it is worth considering why this is happening. And if necessary, talk to the manager. But it's worth starting with an analysis.

Create a detailed schedule for your work day

This step is necessary for you - you can not show the resulting chart to anyone. Therefore, it is worth making it extremely honestly. Write down all the things you do during the day. Include both work tasks and everything you do in between.

Sometimes at this stage, people make unexpected and not very pleasant conclusions. For example, it turns out that you are too often distracted during work. And “five minutes in the messenger” turns into an hour and a half, or even more in a day. But you do not regard this time as a rest, as you remain at your workplace, and working documents are open in a parallel tab.

Another possible option: you work without a plan, do not divide things by urgency and importance.

Therefore, it may turn out that you spend half a day on secondary tasks, and then it turns out that it is about to come deadline for an important project. And you, already tired, are forced to turn on the maximum speed and work until late in the evening.

If you find that you can adjust your schedule so that your time and effort are used more efficiently, do so. Try to plan your day differently - perhaps you will have enough time for all the important things, and then you can relax in peace.

Ask more experienced colleagues how they allocate their time

This item can help not only beginners. Perhaps one of your colleagues spends less time on the same tasks and does not strain at all during work. It's worth knowing how he does it. Maybe some of his tricks will help you too.

For example, your diary only records the dates and times of customer calls. And you do not fix the information received during the conversation - you hope for a good memory. And it works, but only up to a certain point. Then you start to worry and be afraid to miss something important.

And your colleague, after calling, spends a few minutes to briefly write down what was discussed, what agreements were reached, what needs to be done and by what date. He enters all this data in a separate document, where the plan for the month is written, adding new tasks and deadlines. Tomorrow or next week, he won't have to remember the details of the conversation. A common to-do list helps you not to miss important tasks and not forget about deadlines.

Try to use the same method as a basis. Perhaps you will adapt it, make it more convenient for yourself and be able to work more productively.

Talk to your boss

You analyzed your day and saw that your efficiency is very high - after all, you alternate work with short breaks for rest and perform several tasks in a day. But still you can’t cope: in order to do everything, there is not enough time. So, it's time to go to the head.

Show your schedule and explain why you don't have enough time

Let's say you wrote down all the tasks that need to be done in a week. Now you can show in detail and reasonably how much time is needed for each stage of work. And the boss will see that you have to work not 8, but, for example, 10 hours a day.

You can ask him for advice - ask what he himself would do in such a situation. But at the same time, it is important to come to him with your own solution.

Think about which of your tasks are the most important, and which can be postponed until later. Or maybe it’s worth abandoning some tasks altogether if they minimally affect the result.

Perhaps the boss did not even imagine that you objectively did not have time to do everything that was assigned. In this case, you will be able to create a feasible work plan with him.

Refer to job description

It happens that an employee has to do work that is not included in the list of his duties. At first it could be an accident - for example, a colleague fell ill, and you had to take on part of his work. But then you are again assigned to perform the same tasks, although the person is healthy.

In this case, it is worth re-reading the job description. And remind the boss about what duties you agreed upon when you were hired.

If you do not have time and energy for additional tasks, you have the right to refuse them. But if there are resources for such work, we can talk about raising salaries. This is a logical step, because you are taking on more responsibilities.

Prioritize when new tasks appear

It often happens that during probationary period the employee is happy to take on any work cases. So he quickly adapts to new responsibilities and tries to show himself as a valuable employee. At the same time, he does not manage to do everything, but enthusiasm helps him to work with the maximum possible efficiency.

When the probationary period ends, the employee relaxes a little. This is natural: the stress is over, and the fuel in the form of vivid emotions associated with novelty is no longer produced.

Of course, there remains interest in the work and joy from its results. It is great if, during the trial period, in addition to this, habits have developed that help to constantly work with high efficiency. But resources for additional tasks may not be available.

Therefore, if your boss often offers you urgent projects in addition to the main tasks, do not rush to agree immediately.

Analyze which of the current cases will have to be moved in the schedule. And explain to your boss that you can only do new projects instead of some current tasks, and not in parallel with them.

Or let them know that you will be able to take on the task that has just appeared after the current ones are completed. Designate a specific date - for example, from next Monday or from the 15th.

If both the manager and you are satisfied with such a schedule, great. But if not, he will find another artist.

If you can't reach an agreement, consider quitting.

Perhaps your boss does not care that you regularly have to work and you do not have time to recover. Alas, this also happens sometimes. If all the above methods have not worked and you always have more tasks than you can handle, think about a new job.

Sometimes it happens that a person quits, and then finds out that two employees are now working instead of him. Or one, but his salary is much higher. If this is your case, when looking for a new job, determine exactly what tasks you are ready to perform and what pay you agree to.