How to Handle Feeling Overwhelmed at Work

Throughout my career, I have experienced & known of many people that have had feelings of being overwhelmed at work. This is a common trait that people often experience due to various factors within the workplace.

For the sake of staying focused in this article, it’s geared towards those who are employed in an Office Setting. However, these concepts can still apply to those who are self employed or work in a manufacturing setting.

According to Webster, the definition of being overwhelmed is:

To be overpowered in thought or feeling, or to be overcome by superior force or numbers

We are often overpowered through interruptions, too much work, not knowing how to accomplish a project, incoming messages, emails and all the other stuff that goes on in an office/work environment.

Behind the feeling of being overwhelmed could be Fear. Fears that we’ll let people down, look stupid, or even worse… be so far behind on our work that we think we might be let go.

The good news is.. there are many different ways for you to alleviate, if not completely eliminate the feelings of being overwhelmed at work.

Take Stock of Every Task

Take some deep breaths…and then evaluate everything you do at work. This is taking a proactive approach vs. being reactive. For at least a week, write down a list of every task, meeting, interruptions, calls, emails that you get from the time you step into the workplace until the time you leave.

Next- compare this with your job description.. What do you have on the list that is not in line with your official job duties? What is taking up most of your time that is NOT IMPORTANT?

I am not encouraging you to be a “Not my Jobber”, but if you have tasks that you do on a daily basis that are not contributing to your ability to grow, learn, get promoted, etc. it’s time to reevaluate.

Once you identify the things you are working on consistently that do not align with your official job role, discuss this with your job/manager. Take the proactive approach to let them know your boundaries and what you are capable of handling. Perhaps these additional tasks are adding to your sense of overwhelm because you shouldn’t be doing them anyway!

Learn to Say No

Similar to analyzing your job duties, this one could save you a lot of unnecessary work. For example, when I was a Trainer for a large Semiconductor Manufacturer, I would have other trainers ask me to arrange the classroom for them. This was fine, and I didn’t mind helping out..until it became their expectation that I was going to do this for them all the time. It finally got to the point, I had to tell them I was only going to arrange my classrooms. The time spent arranging classrooms for my co-workers meant less time I could focus on learning the material!

If you are the nice guy or gal in the office, you may be the person that others turn to when they need to delegate. So if this you- and it’s causing you to feel overwhelmed, it may be time for you to say NO.

Calm the Fight Or Flight

This one is not as tangible, but still very important. Notice and acknowledge your fear and anxiety you have of feeling overwhelmed. Do you notice how it feels in your body? For me, I feel a burning sensation in my chest and a knot in my stomach.

Once you tune into this feeling, keep your attention on it for several minutes. It’s uncomfortable, but it helps to acknowledge that it’s there. Then, take some slow deep breaths and reassure yourself that you can handle anything that comes your way!

Anxiety causes the body to go into what’s called, the fight or flight mode. If we perceive we’re in danger, our body prepares for the “fight’. This includes rapid heart rate, sweaty palms, or a feeling of lightheadedness. The blood will literally leave our brain and go into our extremities. This is a major reason why it’s difficult to think straight when you are feeling super anxious.

Deep breathing is a simple & powerful practice (and it’s not just for Yogis). Do your best to do this breathing technique before meetings, diving into a tough project, tough conversations, tackling your email, or other various tasks. Through acknowledging your anxiety and calming your body, you can subside your feelings of being overwhelmed.

Prioritize Your Work

Do you get to the office and not know exactly what you’re going to work on? If so, it’s important that you prioritize your work and then schedule tasks in your calendar. Not knowing where to begin can definitely contribute to you feeling overwhelmed. We all need to know that we have some control in our lives. And your schedule- is one thing that can be controlled (unless you have a boss that is a serious Micro Manager).

The easiest place to start is with a Main List. Like I suggested in technique #1- write down every single job responsibility you have.

Next, put them into two groups. Group 1– Projects (work that has a clear start and end date) and Group 2– ongoing tasks like emails, etc.

Next, prioritize your projects and then schedule time in your calendar for at least one week out to work on those projects. Block out time for these. These are your “Big Rocks”.

Side note: If you have a project that you have no idea how to start- then this is the fault of your manager/boss. Don’t be afraid of asking questions because you think it will make you look stupid. Your boss/manager should have explained it better in the first place! (And yes…I personally have experienced this).

Then, schedule and block out time for your routine tasks like emails and returning calls. These on going tasks will fit around your big rocks and should be given less priority. Ideally- your less important work should be done towards the end of the day.

If you struggle with how to prioritize, you may find the Time Management Matrix helpful that I wrote about in this article.

Attend Less Meetings as Much as Possible

Some may disagree with me, but I believe that meetings are the #1 time waster in Corporate America. There was a time when I was in meetings every single day and perhaps 1 out of every 5 or 6 were necessary. Meetings take people away from their actual work. This could lead to people not being able to finish their regular work on time due to attending too many meetings.

If you read the “Four Hour Work Week“, by Tim Ferris, he encourages complete elimination of meetings. He states that the work can be accomplished via email. I realize that this may not be a possibility for some of you reading this. But if you’re feeling overwhelmed because you have to go to a lot of meetings, it may time for you to evaluate how this hindering your job performance. Compare notes- analyze the outcome of these meetings and whether or not there are actual Outputs generated by these meetings.

Summary- How to Handle Feeling Overwhelmed at Work

Being overwhelmed at work is a common feeling to have. The force behind this is fear and anxiety. Too much work to do and not enough time to get it all done.

Taking a proactive approach and evaluating your work is the first step. What are your priorities? Then schedule those in your calendar- protect those blocks of time! Deep breathing will help to lessen the anxiety and help you think clearly. Say no more often to coworkers trying to take advantage of your generosity. And finally, attend less meetings if possible!

Life is way too short to have feelings of being overwhelmed at work. Take these steps to alleviate, if not completely eliminate them.

Are these pie in the sky techniques- or are they things you can actually do in your workplace? What would work? What wouldn’t? Please leave a comment below!