In my coaching and mentoring work, I very often hear the complaint from clients that they are too busy and feeling quite stressed as a result.
I generally say to them that the solution is pretty easy – and readily available to them.
In such situations, you have a limited number of choices:
- do nothing. Of course, the problem won’t magically disappear by itself; things will only get worse – the inevitable ‘downwards spiral’ effect.
- work harder. Not really practicable or sensible if you are already working flat out.
- work smarter. Could be some relief here – focus on time managememt, deal more effectivley with emails, phone calls, meetings etc. Re-prioritise tasks – letting some slip.
- delegate more. Aha! Could be some real pay-offs here. Get rid of the ego-induced belief that you are the only one capable of doing a particular task. If your people cannot be delegated to, maybe you have some work performance/recruitment selection issues to address.
- say ‘no’. If you can’t take on any more tasks, say so. Or suggest what else you will push down the list to accommodate the new task.
It’s not “rocket science”. Your choices are clear. So, get on with it!
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The challenge of course being to apply 3, 4 & 5 when you are in flat out mode however options 1 & 2 always end up in tears and do nothing for quality of work produced.