[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”565px” height=”” background_color=”#dfdfdf” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]This is the first post on my blog from Jacob Miller. He is a leader, a mentor through personal development, a writer and a photographer. He shows us how we can implement creativity in our own lives and gives us advice from his personal work. Read more from him on his own blog, fragments.kineticbear.com. He will be posting here on asmithblog.com every Thursday about how we can all become better leaders.[/dropshadowbox]
Photo Credit: *Kicki* via Compfight cc
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with tasks that we take on. When we are helpful by nature sometimes that can get the best of us. We tend to fill our plate with more than we can handle. That can help us become stronger and grow, but it can also burn us out and that is no good. Our focus can become scattered when we have too many projects.
I have seen this happen to myself and realized a few things along the way.
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1. You can lose the drive to finish the project.
2. The projects will take longer to get done because you just don’t have enough time in the day.
3. Your initial reason for completing the tasks go from passion to guilt.
4. The quality of work you do will suffer.
So how do we prevent ourselves from burning out so we can stay focused?
When it comes down to it we just have to learn to say “no.”
As much as you might hate to say no, people will understand. They know you are busy. They know you usually have a lot on your plate. They know that you would like to help, but don’t have the time to invest right now.
Don’t try to explain yourself, because you don’t need to. Just tell them kindly that you don’t have the time right now. Offer them an idea or maybe someone you know that may be able to help. References are a wonderful thing. It does both you and your friends a favor. You have time to finish your current workload and your friends get new opportunities.
It will take some time to get used to saying “No thanks!” to others, but with time you will realize how much it really helps you. We all need time to relax, catch up, and spend time with our families, so make sure you have a well balanced work load by learning to say “No thanks.”
When you feel overwhelmed with a lot of work how do you cope with it to stay focused? I would love to hear it. Share your story in the comments!
Very good point, Jacob.
“No” is a word that has a pretty bad connotation, but for people who are trying to do big things, it’s incredibly important.
I’m constantly telling myself “no” about helping others and even pursuing the majority of my own ideas, not because I think they’re bad or not worth the time, but actually the exact opposite. It’s because they are worth my full attention that I have to say no.
When I start to feel overwhelmed, I write out a very simple but long list of all of the things that are on my immediate agenda, divided into three columns: personal, professional, and other. When one list seems way too long, I either attack it with full force or start to rethink some of my commitments.
That’s a great idea, Ryan. Love it. I’m stealing it. 🙂
I’ve been meaning to make lists for each week because days tend to fill themselves up faster than we know.
Great idea! @asmithblog:disqus I am going to steal it as well! (I’ll give it back. I promise) 😉
Very good point, Jacob.
“No” is a word that has a pretty bad connotation, but for people who are trying to do big things, it’s incredibly important.
I’m constantly telling myself “no” about helping others and even pursuing the majority of my own ideas, not because I think they’re bad or not worth the time, but actually the exact opposite. It’s because they are worth my full attention that I have to say no.
When I start to feel overwhelmed, I write out a very simple but long list of all of the things that are on my immediate agenda, divided into three columns: personal, professional, and other. When one list seems way too long, I either attack it with full force or start to rethink some of my commitments.
That’s a great idea, Ryan. Love it. I’m stealing it. 🙂
I’ve been meaning to make lists for each week because days tend to fill themselves up faster than we know.
Great idea! @asmithblog:disqus I am going to steal it as well! (I’ll give it back. I promise) 😉
Great post Jacob. I’m always the guy who puts way too much on his plate. When I go to the pizza buffet at Cici’s I always stack my plate about a foot high in pizza slices. Then I get halfway through the stack and think, “I’m going to die before I can finish all of this.” And that’s what I find happening to me sometimes when I fail to say no to projects that I know will just add clutter, confusion, and a lapse in productivity.
Thanks for the post and here’s to trying to say no more often instead of being a “yes man”.
Same here, Daniel. I’m going to start applying this one more often as well.
Ha, great analogy Daniel. I love Cici’s. That mac n’ cheese pizza doesn’t sound that great but it is. I think I could eat a whole stack with my eyes.
I think when we overload ourselves it doesn’t hurt to ask for help. Maybe that hungry friend can help finish that plate. Offer up opportunities to others for growth in tough situations. They may be very thankful in the end.
Great post Jacob. I’m always the guy who puts way too much on his plate. When I go to the pizza buffet at Cici’s I always stack my plate about a foot high in pizza slices. Then I get halfway through the stack and think, “I’m going to die before I can finish all of this.” And that’s what I find happening to me sometimes when I fail to say no to projects that I know will just add clutter, confusion, and a lapse in productivity.
Thanks for the post and here’s to trying to say no more often instead of being a “yes man”.
Same here, Daniel. I’m going to start applying this one more often as well.
Ha, great analogy Daniel. I love Cici’s. That mac n’ cheese pizza doesn’t sound that great but it is. I think I could eat a whole stack with my eyes.
I think when we overload ourselves it doesn’t hurt to ask for help. Maybe that hungry friend can help finish that plate. Offer up opportunities to others for growth in tough situations. They may be very thankful in the end.
What a great post, Jacob. Way to challenge us big time. One way that I stay focused is actually scheduling a focus time in the early morning. Everyone knows that is my time to get stuff done. If I don’t do this, I stay in bed too late.
That is a great way to dominate your work for the day. Remove yourself from distractions and knock it out.
Sometimes my room mates don’t understand it, but they are finally seeing my successes and the harvest from the commitments and hard work.
Focus and persistence grows great things.
I will admit, I stay up late too often, but as a creative, that’s where some of my best work has been cultivated. Something about the night and how it resonates with my imagination.
What a great post, Jacob. Way to challenge us big time. One way that I stay focused is actually scheduling a focus time in the early morning. Everyone knows that is my time to get stuff done. If I don’t do this, I stay in bed too late.
That is a great way to dominate your work for the day. Remove yourself from distractions and knock it out.
Sometimes my room mates don’t understand it, but they are finally seeing my successes and the harvest from the commitments and hard work.
Focus and persistence grows great things.
I will admit, I stay up late too often, but as a creative, that’s where some of my best work has been cultivated. Something about the night and how it resonates with my imagination.
Great blog! I definitely have a tendency to put too much on my plate by being too optimistic about my time and how much I can fit into a day. I have practiced saying no for a while but it is work in progress. It feels selfish to say no but what good are we if we are spreading ourselves too thin and can’t give 100%? Your blog is a great reminder that we need to say NO more often.
Absolutely! Over-committing came to mind for me as well.
We have all been there.
We all want to be good people and help out, but like you said, you want to be able to give it your all when you help. Not become weak and be unsatisfied with the end result.
Great blog! I definitely have a tendency to put too much on my plate by being too optimistic about my time and how much I can fit into a day. I have practiced saying no for a while but it is work in progress. It feels selfish to say no but what good are we if we are spreading ourselves too thin and can’t give 100%? Your blog is a great reminder that we need to say NO more often.
Absolutely! Over-committing came to mind for me as well.
We have all been there.
We all want to be good people and help out, but like you said, you want to be able to give it your all when you help. Not become weak and be unsatisfied with the end result.
I’m so guilty of this. When I get overloaded it’s usually just a matter of being intentional and gaining focus again to realize overloading happened in the first place. I have a tendency to get sidetracked, which causes a lot of the overwhelming workload.
We want to go beyond our limits to grow, but it’s tough to know when to stop.
I do the same thing. I overload myself quite a bit, but as long as you keep moving slowly and don’t give up, you will find rest along the way.
I’m so guilty of this. When I get overloaded it’s usually just a matter of being intentional and gaining focus again to realize overloading happened in the first place. I have a tendency to get sidetracked, which causes a lot of the overwhelming workload.
We want to go beyond our limits to grow, but it’s tough to know when to stop.
I do the same thing. I overload myself quite a bit, but as long as you keep moving slowly and don’t give up, you will find rest along the way.
When I am overwhelmed with a lot of work, I become belligerent about crossing things off my list. Some suggest, starting with your biggest task. When I am overworked, I can’t. I have to begin with the small things. I need to feel the energy and endorphins of crossing things off my list. I start with the little things. Send that email, tweet that quote, make up the bed. There is so much satisfaction in crossing stuff off that when I get to the bigger or more time consuming stuff, I am in a positive state of mind to do it.
Having things on the backburner causes stress. It feels so good to finally feel the success and have an “open stove” to start cooking up new things!
When I am overwhelmed with a lot of work, I become belligerent about crossing things off my list. Some suggest, starting with your biggest task. When I am overworked, I can’t. I have to begin with the small things. I need to feel the energy and endorphins of crossing things off my list. I start with the little things. Send that email, tweet that quote, make up the bed. There is so much satisfaction in crossing stuff off that when I get to the bigger or more time consuming stuff, I am in a positive state of mind to do it.
Having things on the backburner causes stress. It feels so good to finally feel the success and have an “open stove” to start cooking up new things!
Great post Jacob! I am guilty of taking on too much…I told my wife the other day this is my season of “no!” I’m trying to say “no” as much as possible.
Great post Jacob! I am guilty of taking on too much…I told my wife the other day this is my season of “no!” I’m trying to say “no” as much as possible.