Overwhelmed at work and can't catch up?

Why it feels worse than the work itself

Overwhelm usually comes from the number of open things more than from any one task. Each half-finished job takes up a bit of attention, even while you're doing something else, so by mid-afternoon you're tired before much has got done.

Unfinished tasks are hard to put down. In a set of experiments published in 2011, the psychologists E. J. Masicampo and Roy Baumeister found that people distracted by an unfinished goal could concentrate again once they'd written a specific plan for it, before doing any of the work. The plan let the mind stop circling.

So when you're overwhelmed, start by getting the whole list where you can see it, before you try to go faster.

Get everything out of your head

Take ten minutes and write down every open thing, work and home, big and tiny. Don't sort it yet. Seeing it on paper is often a relief on its own, because there it has an end, which it never seems to have in your head.

Then, next to each item, write the next physical step. Instead of "budget report", write "open last year's file and copy the headings". The vague items are the ones you keep avoiding, and a first step you could start in five minutes gets them moving.

Decide what can wait

Go through the list and mark what has a real deadline this week. Everything else can wait, or be done to a lower standard than you'd like.

Pick the one or two things that would make the biggest difference by Friday and do those first, in the morning if you can, before email fills the day.

For the rest, ask what "good enough" looks like. Overwhelm often grows when every task is held to the standard of your best work. A rough draft sent on time often helps your team more than a polished one sent late.

Take the list to your manager

If the list still doesn't fit into your hours, your manager needs to know, and it lands better as a question about priorities. Bring the list and ask: "This is what I've got this week. Which two matter most, and what can move?"

If you're asked to take on something new, try "Yes, and which of these should I drop to make room?" It keeps the conversation on the work, and it leaves the trade-off with the person who can decide it.

If you can, hand things on. Someone who has done the task before is often quicker at it, and asking is usually less awkward than it feels. People also tend to expect more refusals than they get: across a 2008 series of studies by Francis Flynn and Vanessa Lake, people underestimated by as much as half how likely others were to agree to a direct request for help.

When it's more than a busy patch

Busy weeks come and go. Talk to your GP or another qualified professional if the overwhelm has lasted for weeks and doesn't lift at weekends, or if it's getting into your sleep and your health. If you're having thoughts of hurting yourself, or you're in danger now, call your local emergency number.

Many employers also have an occupational health service or a confidential employee assistance line. Your HR team can tell you whether yours does.

Sources

• Masicampo, E. J. and Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(4), 667-683.
• Flynn, F. J. and Lake, V. K. (2008). If you need help, just ask: underestimating compliance with direct requests for help. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(1), 128-143.