My 7 steps to personal effectiveness - Step 5; Workload Management

Introducing step 5 in my personal effectiveness journey - Workload Management.

I am sure that at some point you would have experienced the stress and the pressure that comes from a heavy workload. If your workload is not handled correctly, it can be damaging to both your physical and mental health.

Whether it's in your job or your lifestyle as a whole, learning how to manage your workload effectively can help you feel more relaxed, focused, and in control.

Throughout my series of personal effectiveness articles, I may have already provided some ways to manage a heavy workload, so I may duplicate a couple of points but ultimately here is how I would effectively manage a heavy workload.

Acknowledge You Can’t Do It All

Something I see all the time is that the most useful somebody is, the busier that person becomes as everybody tends to go to that person to help get things done. In taking on more tasks that person loses sight of their true value and as a result, becomes distracted from the real important work.

This thought might scare some people as "no" has a bad reputation. But sometimes a polite "no" is in the best interest of all parties involved. Certainly, it is important to say "yes" as this opens doors and gives opportunity - but it is most important we say "yes" to the things that truly matter.

Many of us have a tendency to think we can do more than we actually can. We take on more and more responsibility and wear numerous hats.

To make real, effective progress, you have to understand that it's not about how hard you work but how productive you are. This means that you should be more selective about what you focus on and acknowledge that you can’t do it all and look for better solutions.

Get Organised

Most people do this, but making a to-do list is the best way to stay organised. Keep a single to-do list to avoid losing track of multiple lists. Keeping a list helps me work out my priorities and timings and it helps me focus on the right tasks at the right moment.

To help me prioritise I use the Eisenhower Matrix. In listing tasks into the 4 categories it helps me concentrate on the important tasks and if I focus on the planning for important tasks I know I will reduce the chances of activities ever becoming "urgent and important".

Take Time for Planning

I have learned that taking the time to effectively plan and understand your work saves plenty of time and it gives you a clear perspective on your priorities and timelines.

The key to workload management is making sure you allocate time appropriately. According to the 10/90 Rule (Brian Tracey), the 10% of the time that you take to plan your activities carefully in advance will save you 90% of the effort involved in achieving your goals later. The very act of thinking through and planning your work in advance will dramatically reduce the amount of time that it takes you to do the actual job – thus making you more efficient. 

I therefore regularly block off time to Plan and Prepare. I have found that taking this time out to work backwards from key events, has made me feel more in control and better for not constantly working in a reactive ‘fire-fighting’ mode. 

Practice the '4 Ds'

If like me you sometimes struggle to take charge of the day, consider using the fours Ds technique.

DROP - This is the easiest of the four as you just need to make the decision to delete. Ask yourself, will this task help you get to your long term goal? or is it wasting your time? (If you're still unsure, the next D can help).

DELAY - Decisions are tough. To delay means saying, "Not right now" rather than, "Not ever." This is useful is that it frees up time for you to address what needs to get done right now.

Remember to review your list of deferred tasks at the end of the day / week. During this review decide if you want to do or delete. After all, there's a fine line between deferring and procrastinating.

DELEGATE - If you really want to grow as a leader, you’ve got to learn to delegate. You don't have to do everything. Delegation doesn’t mean you’ll never see the task gain. It just means someone is helping you get closer to completing it, than if you were to do it alone. By entrusting tasks to others, you are able to manage your workload more effectively.

DO - Simply put, act! But remember to keep multitasking to a minimum to ensure you are giving your work your undivided attention and to remain most effective!

Regain Control of your Inbox

It’s easy to spend a large portion of your working day just trying to make a dent in your email backlog, to the detriment of other, often more pressing, priorities. Effective strategies for managing your inbox can be;

Use 'a system' - One strategy you can use to get your inbox under control is the ‘five folder’ method;

1. Inbox - treat this as your waiting area. Emails should stay in here for long - except for when you are waiting for an immediate response.

2. Today - Items that need a response today.

3. This week - Messages that require a response before the end of the week.

4. This month - everything that needs a longer-term response.

5. FYI - any items that are for information only and you may want to refer back to in the future

This system prioritises emails based on timescales rather than the emails’ senders, enabling you to better schedule work and set deadlines.

Set email ‘windows’

Don’t let your inbox drive your workload. You do not need to check your inbox every time a message arrives. Switch off instant alerts if necessary and allocate a time when you will check your inbox.

Constantly and immediately checking emails when they arrive prevents us from focusing on the work we should be doing. If you find yourself constantly checking email ad hoc throughout the day, this time will quickly add up and could seriously impact your productivity and also wellbeing.

Batch your email frequently throughout the day using email 'windows' as an effective strategy to control your time and inbox.

Remember the 80:20 rule of workloads

It’s very simple - 80 percent of your work contributes to less than 20 percent of its value. Concentrate on the most crucial 20 percent of your workload, because performance would still be strong.

This involves making a decision about what act on now, later or even never.

The key to managing a workload that sometimes feels out of control is to get as much control over it as you can. And accept you can’t do everything.

Thanks for reading and be safe!

HR Blogger