Staying Motivated When You Are Overloaded

We all have days where we feel completely overwhelmed with our workload, we arrive in the morning welcomed by mounds of work that get us completely demotivated before we start the day.

We've fallen victim to this vicious cycle too many times during our working lives. It’s one of those things you are difficult escape. Some days will be absolutely chaotic when the end is never in sight and the work continues to pile up and others are smooth sailing and an absolute dream.

Organise Your Desk

Chances are you've walked into your office and your desk is just piled high with paperwork, somewhere under there is your computer keyboard which you need to find to get the important reports done and check your emails.

A great motivational tip is to get organised. When you first arrive at your office, or better still at the end of the day, take a few minutes to organise your desk. Put the piles of paperwork into order; get the filing away to clear the clutter so that your keyboard is available for use.

Getting the papers off your desk and neatly into in-trays will make a huge difference to the way you work. You can even prioritise your paperwork, which is the next step to staying motivated.

A clean desk is a clean slate, leaving you ready to challenge the chaotic day ahead.


Prioritise

When you feel overloaded and overwhelmed, the best way to manage that is to prioritise your work. You will notice when listing the work you need to get through that not everything is urgent and needs to get done right now, giving you the opportunity to leave it until later. Indeed, some tasks that were on your list maybe don’t have to be done at all!

Prioritising is such an important part of staying motivated. If you have a clear list of what needs to get done in order of urgency, you can work your way through the list feeling achievement as each job is completed in a timely manner.

I always suggest with urgent tasks, put the harder ones first, completing the harder tasks first gets them out of the way enabling you to get on with the easier ones. I’ve always found this a great way to get my jobs done when they just keep piling up and there never seems to be an end to it all.


Delegate

Learning the art of delegation doesn't come naturally to many people, but when you are in a position where you cannot handle your workload; there may be times when smaller and easier tasks can be delegated to someone else.

This takes some of the stress off yourself, whether it’s a stats spreadsheet that need to be sent off or a few brochures that need to be posted, these are simple tasks you can easily pass onto another colleague who has some spare time on their hands to help you out.


Breaks

I cannot stress the importance of taking breaks enough. I have been guilty of shoving a sandwich down my throat whilst manically typing away with one hand. I think we all have done this when we’re overloaded, but surprisingly I soon learned that by taking breaks meant I was more productive.

If your workload for today is too much to complete, I'm not saying take an entire hour for lunch, but a half an hour walk around the office or neighbourhood, or a quiet sit down to eat your lunch is a must.

Getting back to work feeling refreshed will give you motivation to get going again. Often a couple of small five minute breaks during the course of the day can give you the strength to keep on going even when you feel there is no end in sight.

Targets and Rewards

Setting yourself simple targets is a great way to remain motivated. Start with your to-do list and work your way through it, setting small targets such as complete the first five tasks on your list and then you can have a fifteen minute break is a great motivational target that can keep you steaming ahead.

After the five tasks, take your break, have a nice cuppa, enjoy a slice of cake, eat your lunch, phone your friend, whatever the reward is you've offered yourself, do it, before heading onto the next target.

Remaining motivated when things are overwhelming is so difficult and soon we become despondent, which in turn actually reduces your productivity. Remaining focused, setting yourself clear targets and offering yourself rewards is the best way to achieve everything you need to achieve for today.


Stop the Emails

Whilst you can’t stop the phone from ringing, you can stop yourself from constantly checking your emails. I used to do this all the time, which meant my targets would fly out of the window as I found urgent emails that needed responses.

Set yourself times when you can check your emails. This way you can set your targets, be productive and when you do check your email at set times, you can add urgent items to your to-do list.

By doing this you aren't all over the place, you aren't flipping from one job to another, you are getting your head down, being productive, staying motivated and getting through the overload in an organised manner, which in turn leads to success.

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You are in the position of a high-level executive and “with great power comes great responsibility”, but you do need to smile now and again! Smiling when someone walks past your office or having a good laugh with colleagues is a fantastic stress relief and helps boost motivation. Try it now!