If yes, then chances are, you’re stuck in a position where everything is important, and everything needs to be done now. And you might have begun to think that living on coffee, staying up all night, and finishing the work is the only option left.
Fortunately, that’s not the case. Here, we’ll list the top five things you need to do when you’re falling behind on work; and overwhelming yourself isn’t one of them. So, let’s begin.
1. Communicate Openly and Take Help From Magic
The first thing you need to do is communicate openly with your boss and co-workers. If your boss keeps assigning you new tasks, then it’s time you meet with them and discuss the issue you’re currently facing.
However, instead of telling them right away that you have a lot on your plate, and you can take on no more work, discuss with them the projects you’re currently working on. Ask them to help you prioritize the tasks they want you to work on first.
By knowing this, your boss will understand the situation. The chances are, they’ll assign the new tasks to someone else. And if you’re lucky, they might as well extend the deadlines for the ones you’re currently working on. Besides that, you should talk to your colleagues about your workload, and they’d be able to come up with an action plan to finish the work on time.
Finally, take help. The online platform, Magic, helps you find a virtual assistant, who you’ll need to pay on a per-minute basis. You can delegate all the stuff you need to do to this assistant, but it doesn’t require your expertise. For example, booking appointments, researching something, or even ordering food and coffee.
Apart from that, you can hire assistants at very cheap rates from sites like Upwork or Fiverr for more complex tasks. They can help you complete some of the sub-tasks of the project that you can easily delegate—for example, editing or proofreading a piece of content.
2. Prioritize Tasks With Trello
When you’re short on time, and everything seems urgent, prioritization is the key.
So, prioritize the tasks based on the deadlines and the time it will take to complete them. For example, if you have four days left to submit an assignment that would take 4-5 hours to complete and a one-week deadline for another project that might take you 18-20 hours to finish, prioritize the former. You can also divide the lengthier task into multiple sub-tasks to make it easier for you.
Once you’re done prioritizing, use Trello to get those sub-tasks and tasks on your to-do list with a due date you set for each of them.
The platform is free for individual usage and allows you to create multiple boards and cards and list your tasks under them. For instance, if you have to submit a project X by this week and project Y by the next, consider creating two cards on the Kanban board of Trello and list all the sub-tasks you need to complete with due dates before your final submission date.
You can also add other team members to the list. Mention them, assign tasks, and discuss things in the comment section if needed. If you hire a virtual assistant, you can directly assign them tasks from Trello and know if things are running on time.
3. Reset Your Brain With Guided Meditation
When you’re falling behind on work, staying awake late at night, gulping one coffee after another, and working until your eyes just can’t keep up may intrigue you. But think again; our brain and body need to refuel. Taking a whole night’s sleep will help you refresh and work at your best speed. On the other hand, failing to do so may result in mediocre performance.
However, when you’re falling behind on work, stressing out and not being able to sleep seems justifiable. But you can fix it. All you have to do is reach the office two hours earlier the following day to finish your pending task. Also, reserve a few hours on weekends to complete the work.
With that in mind, sleeping without any anxiety is possible. To make it simpler, perform guided meditation. Download the Calm app or save the YouTube video below and play it when you’re in your bed.
Download: Calm for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchase available)
4. Procrastinate Productively With FocusMe
When you’re overwhelmed, you procrastinate. It’s the easiest escape from all the problems of the world. But it comes with a bigger price to pay. But what if you could procrastinate and still be able to cross out things from your to-do list?
Just reverse engineer how procrastination works. Start by blocking unnecessary things that may tempt you while procrastinating and work on the smaller sub-tasks that you need to do. The platform FocusMe can help block unnecessary stuff from your desktop or Mac, and Trello can help with listing the items to do for productive procrastination.
That way, you’ll be productive and get things done, even while procrastinating. Motivation comes from action, and it’s never the other way around. That way, when you start feeling a bit odd by working on the low-priority tasks, you’ll feel the itch to get back to the more important ones.
5. Take Productive Breaks
Apart from working extra hours and procrastinating, taking productive breaks is equally important. You can either consider taking a break every 90 minutes of work or after finishing one task completely.
During these breaks, consider eating something healthy, doing something that relaxes you like listening to music, or going for a walk.
However, you must avoid wasting those breaks by checking your emails or social media. To make it work, consider spending 20-30 minutes replying to every necessary conversation before starting your work. Then, turn off the notifications.
Also, you need to ensure that you keep track of time while you’re on your break. So, set a timer on your phone’s regular Clock app and get back to your desk as soon as your leisure time is over.
Don’t Stress About Falling Behind on Work
By now, you must have understood that it’s possible to complete your work without getting overwhelmed. All you have to do is communicate openly, prioritize your tasks, ensure you take proper sleep and breaks, and take advantage of procrastination.
These may seem small tips, but they can do wonders when you follow them correctly.
