I’m feeling overwhelmed at work. What should I do?

No one should feel overwhelmed in the workplace. Unfortunately, this can happen at a new job or one you’ve had for years. Once overwhelmed at work, you might struggle even with simple tasks. Productivity and work effectiveness can quickly decline when you have too much work and not enough time to complete important tasks.

Fortunately, there are several things you can do to stop feeling overwhelmed without adjusting your work hours or your work-life balance. Here are some suggestions and advice on how to get your workday under control and how to calm down effectively.

What you can do to stop feeling overwhelmed

Feeling overwhelmed at work can happen both to office workers and those who work remotely from home. This feeling can take its toll on your mental health and might quickly turn into work burnout. It can also spill over into your personal life, escalating into other issues.

It’s critical to take time to understand which aspects of your job are causing this feeling and make the appropriate changes.

Take breaks

When you feel overwhelmed on the job, sometimes you need to take a break. This can be just a few minutes to yourself to get your thoughts in order.

If you’re anxious, try deep breathing exercises to calm your mind and bring your heart rate down. Self-care is an important part of being productive and accomplishing your tasks and is not to be seen as wasting time.

When overwhelmed with the amount of time you have to accomplish your goals, your mental health and well-being could be taxed to their limits. Leave your workspace and get some fresh air. A change of scenery can help clear your head.

Prioritize tasks

Each workday, make a to-do list and spend some time prioritizing your tasks. Physically writing down a daily task list can help you see where you need to focus your efforts and can help with your time management.

Spend time on projects that are time-sensitive first. There’s no need to work longer hours to finish projects that aren’t due immediately. If you’re prone to procrastination, motivate yourself to wrap up everything urgent and take a short break before moving to other tasks. Stick to your to-do list and you won’t feel so overwhelmed.

Delegate

A part of problem-solving is knowing when to delegate tasks to other team members. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when you try to tackle every project alone. Delegating simple tasks to others can clear your to-do list and frees up time for more important tasks.

This applies beyond your work life. If you have a busy personal life, see if a friend, loved one, or family member can handle a personal chore for you on days when you have a lot on your work plate. Delegating tasks, business and personal, can give you more breathing room to accomplish the day’s goals.

Set manageable goals

If your goals are unrealistic, you’ll quickly feel overwhelmed. Setting work-related goals that can be accomplished is key to performance. Perfectionism will work against even the best employee, so learning what you can produce in a workday is necessary. If your to-do list has too many tiny tasks or tasks you can’t achieve any time soon, you’ll quickly become frustrated.

Set boundaries

Scheduling time to finish projects can help to keep your workday balanced. Not answering a non-work related phone call is sometimes necessary. Avoid small talk with team members when you have tight deadlines.

It’s okay to say no to projects if they’re not in your job description. If you continuously feel you’re doing more than your part and it causes you to feel overwhelmed daily, check in with your boss or employer and reevaluate your responsibilities.

Talk with a colleague

Speaking about your frantic workload with a trusted colleague can sometimes put things into perspective. They may be able to offer constructive advice about how they’ve handled and were able to overcome similar situations.

Often, those with more experience have had the same difficulties and can assist with prioritizing tasks or suggesting a better use of your time. Talking about your difficulties with a more experienced team member can sometimes show you how you can get more work done in less time.

Even if they can’t offer any suggestions, just knowing that you’re not the only one feeling the pressure to produce can help to make you feel less overwhelmed.

Boost your productivity and stave off the overwhelm with Speechify

Speechify is a text to speech tool that can help you to take care of many more tasks and work assignments more effectively. The app can significantly reduce workday stress by reading important documents to you, saving you the time of reading them yourself. It works great with Google Docs and is compatible with Android, Safari, Chrome, and iOS.

To help you glide more easily through your tasks, Speechify can help you read more quickly and retain much more information. Learning to read faster has plenty of workplace benefits and can help to reduce stress.

To see how Speechify can help you to feel more in control of your time management and work tasks, give it a try today.

FAQ

Why do you think you are feeling overwhelmed at work?

Feelings of panic and work-related anxiety are clear indicators of feeling overwhelmed at work.

What is the work you are feeling overwhelmed by?

Identifying exactly which aspects of your job are causing you to feel overwhelmed can help to identify what needs to be changed.

What is the first step to take when feeling overwhelmed at work?

Taking a break is the best thing you can do when feeling overwhelmed at work. Sometimes a quick change of scenery and fresh air is enough to clear your head.

Is it possible to take a break from work and focus on something else for a while?

Absolutely. Clearing your head from an overwhelming workday can do wonders.