We know that we don’t have the time, we know that we are already overwhelmed, we know that we shouldn’t, and yet we keep on doing it—we overschedule. Life can become very stressful very quickly when you have to juggle too many responsibilities.
When you have too much on your plate, it’s easy to think that your only options are to start breathing into a paper bag or crawl under your desk.
Luckily, they are not. When you are feeling buried under a mountain of responsibilities, here are a few things you can do to take back control.
Get a Planner
A planner is a must-have—it is not even an option. Things can quickly fall apart without it. Write down and plan out dates for your tasks and responsibilities as soon as you get a date for them.
A planner can keep you prepared and organized for every day of the week. Sometimes, simply putting everything on paper is the best trick there is.>
Prioritize
Prioritizing is key to staying organized, and it’s much easier when you have a planner or scheduler in hand. The best thing to do is to start prioritizing as soon as you start feeling overwhelmed.
To see how and where you should get started, sort your tasks into a logical order. A simple matrix concept should do the trick when you are in doubt. Draw a square on a piece of paper and divide it into four parts.
Write “Not Important” and “Important” above the boxes. Then, write “Not Urgent” and “Urgent” next to the left side of the boxes.
Place the tasks you need to get done in the appropriate boxes. Naturally, you should start off with tasks that are ranked as both “Important” and “Urgent.” This method will allow you to speed things up a bit.
Focus on Value
Most likely, there are a few routines and tasks that clutter up your day. Chances are, you do them simply because you’ve always done them—not because they are essential.
Focus on the value each task offers when you are putting together your to-do list. Considering the grand scheme of things, is that item really important? This may allow you to cross out some of the items on your list altogether.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep has a big impact on our mental capacity and energy levels, yet we rarely think about this. You may think sleep is a time-waster because your presentation, assignment, homework, or essay are due in three days, but it is still vital.
You won’t get any work done when you are exhausted. If you keep yourself up all night to do something, you will get even less work done.
Sleep is a great way to heal your mind during a frustrating and disheartening time, but falling asleep can be hard when you are under stress.
Still, there are ways you can make sure you’ll get enough of that much-needed shut-eye. Instead of trying to distract yourself by watching TV, you can use relaxation techniques or natural sleep aids to fall asleep faster.
Delegate What You Can
Don’t be afraid to turn to a coworker or a friend for help. If the tasks on your planner don’t actually need to be done by you, consider delegating them to someone trustworthy.
Depending on someone else every now and then doesn’t mean you will make a habit of always asking others to take care of your work. Besides, you can always offer to return the favor.
If you don’t have someone who can take on part of the workload, there are still some solutions you can try. If you need to complete pesky, repetitive tasks that require manual labor, you can employ automated solutions.
Plan Ahead and Notify
Even with a well-crafted plan of attack, you may need to prioritize things. Your workload may be too much for you to handle even after you have narrowed it down. If that happens, you need to get proactive.
Determining whether you are going to miss any deadliness is the next key step. Instead of frantically sending emails at midnight, try to give advanced warnings of any probable delays. Notify the relevant people as soon as you can.
Don’t Be Afraid to Say No
It is not always possible to do everything you want to do or everything that’s assigned to you at the same time—despite your best intentions. You need to learn how to say no in cases like these.
Of course, this is easier said than done. You may feel like you’ll be disappointing the other person by saying no. After all, we are wired to please others
But if you are not able to devote enough time to them without stressing yourself, explain the situation and say no. This will give them enough time to figure out what step to take next. You can rest assured that they will appreciate it.
