Struggling, juggling, drowning

The struggling, juggling and drowning experiences of overwhelm can become a frequent or familiar part of our life. 

Yes, the world can be an overwhelming place. 

- We might have an EMOTIONAL experience of being overwhelmed;

- We can experience the ‘too much on’ of WORKLOAD that’s overwhelming, too much to do and not enough time in which to do it;

or

- We might feel like we’re submerged under an endless pile of INFORMATION, reports, books and reading.

At other times we can be 'drowning in it’ from a wicked combination of all 3 : emotions, workload and information!

Argh! This is overwhelm.

And it’s not good for us. Burnout and its health issues are waiting when we let overwhelm become too much, too often. 

We need to find ways to acknowledge our emotions, manage our workload … and filter all of that information. 

I believe our overwhelm can be outsmarted. (We don’t want to get rid of it altogether, because it signals important things to us. But wouldn’t it be good to be less affected by it!)


‘Argh!: Too much information, not enough brain’ is my book is out now.

It’s all about how to make sense of overwhelm, and how to outsmart it.

Back-to-back is bad to worse

If the view is ‘full of colour’ when you look at your diary or schedule, you could be in the back-to-back brigade who don’t get a break. 

The scheduling - and acceptance - of a day of meetings running one into the other, is tiring, inefficient and distracting. 

This Forbes article by Bruce Rogers talks more about how our brains needs a break. 

Our ability to focus lessens as the day goes on and the cognitive load of no, or few, breaks doesn’t serve us either. 

Microsoft recently made changes to their deep down default settings in Outlook for appointment durations and scheduling. You can customize them further for your own preferences and well-being. 

This is in an effort to reduce the rotten fatigue that results from a back-to-back schedule. 

But it also takes individual, leadership and cultural shifts on ‘how we do things around here’ to bring an end to the back-to-back-badge-of-busy. 

Here’s how I roll: 
- Finish early. 
- Schedule breaks
- Block out time. 
- Protect the boundaries. 
- Model better behaviours. 

There are clear ways for us to adopt to get from bad-to-better in the breaks-for-brain game. 

What are you doing to break the back-to-back?

A high potential for ... burnout

Why is it some people working with some leaders in some environments experience burnout ... yet other don’t?

This difference is stark and at the heart of why some things fire us up ... and others burn us out. 

In this Forbes article by Alain Hunkins, it’s revealed that “engaged employees who have job flexibility tend to work more hours per week than the average employee, while reporting higher wellbeing.

“When people feel inspired, motivated and supported in their work, they do more work — and that work is significantly less stressful on their overall health and wellbeing.”

This finding was echoed in Gallup research. 

Review the article for :
🔥 the 5 causes of burnout
🔥 the 5 signs of burnout 
and, importantly, 
🔥 the 9 solutions to burnout. 

And if you’re a high potential performer with a strong work ethic, bookmark the article and keep an eye on the flames: you could be prone to burning out more than firing up. 

6 ways we’re overloaded

We know what overloads and overwhelms us: information, overwork, deadlines, social issues, politics, uncertainty. 

While we need to keep a handle on managing our own overload, it’s important to consider others and how we might be overloading them...accidentally or unknowingly.  

Here’s how we overload:
1. Meetings are too long
2. Focusing on the work for too long
3. One person speaking for too long. 

These are about the pressure and expectation we have of ATTENTION. There’s no break and pressure piles up with no relief or release. 


And then there’s:
4. Rambling, unstructured information 
5. Too much context or background 
6. Lengthy presentation packs. 

These are about the quantity and types of INFORMATION. We expect we can keep processing, analyzing, digesting and synthesizing information... endlessly. 

All 6 of these overloads are “too much”: too much unreleased pressure and too much wrestling with information. 

Combined, they lead to the reduced engagement, slowed progress and increased confusion of overload. And exhaustion. 

Take each in turn and use it as a kind of gate, filter or checklist. 

We can’t expect others to ‘just deal with’ what we haven’t considered, constrained or refined. 

Time and space for a laugh

Have a favourite comedian? One you know you can watch or listen to, loving their style of humour ... and you’ll always get a laugh?

Brian Regan cracks me up 🤣! His physical humour and his stories, I love them. (‘Man on the Moon’ and ‘Me Monsters’ are highlights).

It’s a personal choice though, isn’t it... about what makes us laugh. 

As we continue through tough times the world over, it’s good to know what gives you a laugh when you need it. 

...To know what you can do for yourself to lift or change your mood; and laughter can do that for us. 

We’re less stressed and more productive when we laugh and there are plenty more glorious benefits, so says Betty-Anne Heggie in Harvard Business Review’s ‘The benefits of laughing at the office.’

Even when the office is at home, it’s worth inviting and welcoming laughter at work. 

In meetings, workshops and when groups and teams come together online or face to face, it’s absolutely worth bringing a laugh to the work environment when you can. 

Work out what makes you laugh. And then enjoy more of it. 

😃So... how do you get a laugh? Comedy? Something else?