Simplify Your Life: 9 Effective Ways to Manage Your Workload

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Effectively addressing your workload is easier said than done. From staff downsizing to colleague illness, there are several reasons why we might be facing too much work to handle. There are always times in the year when we have a higher workload than normal and struggle to keep up, however, it’s not normal that you wake up every day worried about how much work needs to be done.

Struggling with an increased workload results in decreased productivity, increases chances of burnout, reduces work-life balance and so much more. That’s why you must understand how to effectively manage your workload if you want to stay productive, engaged and satisfied within your role.

In this article, we share our top 9 ways you can manage your workload and share our top tips for telling your manager you have too much work. Our top tips for handling your workload include:

1. Prioritising self-care
2. Taking a break
3. Speaking with your mentor
4. Creating a to-do list
5. Asking for guidance and support
6. Setting S.M.A.R.T goals
7. Automating where possible
8. Setting boundaries
9. Staying organised

Keep reading to discover how these tips can help your workload management.

9 Ways to Manage Your Workload

Managing your workload isn’t always easy, but there are a few things you can do to manage it more efficiently. Some of our top tips include:

1. Prioritising Self-Care

Self-care is more than face masks and reading a nice book in bed. If you want to manage your workload better, then you need to prioritise self-care. When you take care of yourself by getting enough sleep, eating well and staying active, then you’re making sure that your health and well-being are important, giving you time to de-stress and avoid burnout.

2. Taking a Break

Most people think that when they have a heavy workload, they need to keep working until it’s done. The fact of the matter is, that it’s important to take regular breaks. When you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, it’s essential to take breaks to re-focus. Stepping away from your desk to go for a quick walk, grab some food or have a stretch is a great way to refresh your mind and be more focused when you return to your duties. Regular breaks will help retain productivity and create a more positive mindset.

3. Speaking With Your Mentor

Mentors have often been in a similar situation. Whether you're part of an organisational mentoring programme or are already in a mentoring relationship outside of the office, speaking with your mentor about your workload, will help you manage it better. Mentors are there to support their mentee's personal and professional growth and a key component of that is how we manage our workloads. Mentors are there to offer support and guidance to their mentees, so never be afraid to ask your mentor for advice or feedback on how to complete specific tasks. If you don’t already have a mentor, you can find one for free at PushFar.

4. Creating a To-do List

Every successful project begins with a strategic plan. Having a to-do list shows exactly what needs to be done. From setting up a meeting to sending out an important email, when you break down your tasks, you're saving the extra effort that goes into thinking about what needs to be done. A to-do list is a simple but effective way to ensure you keep on track.

5. Asking For Guidance and Support

If you feel comfortable enough to do so, then never hesitate to reach out to your manager or co-workers when you need further guidance and support when completing your duties. It’s human nature to not want to ask people for help because we often believe we can do it ourselves or fear that we’re asking for too much. But remember, most people are always willing to help out someone in need. When you ask for help, you're gaining further insights, clarification and resources that can help you better understand and manage your tasks. You can also ask for feedback to further improve in the future.

6. Setting S.M.A.R.T Goals

When it comes to better managing your workload, then setting goals is a must. The S.M.A.R.T goal formula, helps people set achievable goals and give them something to work towards. S.M.A.R.T stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound, which helps narrow down what needs to be done and by when. Setting goals will help your workload management as you can better prioritise your tasks.

7. Automating Where Possible

Technology has come a long way. Whilst, there's no denying that there are some cons to our new technology-centred world, there are some impressive benefits. If you’re struggling with your workload, then a simple way to help fix that is by automating tasks where possible, in particular admin tasks that always take longer than we think. By looking for ways you can automate processes, you’re giving yourself more freedom to focus on more important responsibilities that need to be manually done.

8. Setting Boundaries

You can’t do everything for everyone and that’s okay. If you’re someone who says 'yes' to everything, then maybe it’s time to start saying ‘no’. Now, we're not telling you that you can’t help your team members out, but you need to learn to set boundaries. By setting clear boundaries with your co-workers, you're protecting your time and energy, which will help you complete your workload easier. From leaving your desk at a set time each day to feeling confident to say 'no' to non-urgent tasks, shows your colleagues when you’re unavailable and when you need time to focus on your work.

9. Staying Organised

Staying organised is key to effectively managing your workload. Start with keeping your workspace nice and clean, it can be a distraction when your desk is full of papers and clutter. Next, whilst it’s important to keep your physical workplace neat, you need to also keep your digital workplace in check. When you have structure and organisation in your space, you can easily find what needs to be found. This not only reduces the stress of completing your workload but makes everything more easily accessible.

How to Tell Your Boss You Have Too Much Work

If you’re feeling overworked, it’s always crucial that you speak to your boss. Letting them know how you feel is a great step towards making your workload more manageable. Now you know ways to manage your workload and avoid feeling overwhelmed, let’s talk a look at some of our best tips to speak to your boss about your workload, these include:

1. Seek Advice

Before reaching out to your manager, we always suggest seeking advice and feedback from others. Speak to friends, your mentors, family or co-workers to get an outside perspective. Not only can they give you the best advice for what to say but they can also offer guidance to help you manage your workload better and offer potential solutions.

2. Prepare What You Want to Say

Before speaking to your manager, it’s always good to prepare what you want to say and collect specific examples. Before your meeting, take the time to note down questions and record how you feel. By having a list of the challenges you're facing, you can provide specific examples that can help your manager come up with different solutions.

3. Keep It Positive

During your meeting, keep the conversation positive and avoid entering with a negative mindset. When it comes to telling your manager that you have too much work, you need to inform, rather than complain about the situation. Whilst you may be feeling swamped with your work, it’s more than likely that your manager wasn’t aware of how you are feeling and didn’t intently plan to overwhelm you.

4. Offer Thoughtful Solutions

Before your conversations, brainstorm any potential solutions that would help you manage your workload. This not only shows your dedication to finding a solution but gives your manager something to work with. Whether that’s having to hire someone new to the team to help complete projects or specific software to help you automate your processes.

Conclusion

Excessive workloads can have detrimental effects not only on your health but on the success of the organisation you work for. Managing your work effectively shouldn’t need to be a hard task and by implementing a few of the suggestions mentioned above, you’ll soon find yourself able to more easily manage your workload.