How can you help your mentee balance multiple deadlines?

As you assess the situation dig deeper to understand which of these deadlines are hard constraints (e.g. there may be an external contractual commitment) vs. which ones are softer and can potentially be re-negotiated. Often times what we consider a hard constraint is not as much so.

Your mentee should be encouraged to make a list of all the projects, tasks and deadlines, along with the due dates, priorities and stakeholders for each in the list. In order to help your mentee organise their tasks, make reminders, and visualise their workload, you should begin by introducing them to calendars, planners or software for project management. Assist your mentee in determining the order of priority, urgency and dependency for the tasks they need to complete. Encourage your mentee to set aside precise blocks of time for each assignment, so that they may work in a concentrated manner and avoid multitasking during the process.

In reality, there is no project being finished with no trouble. Therefore, this monitoring and reporting process is as important as planning. The challenge is that some members may attempt to handle troubles themselves without reporting. It’s ok if they are minor ones. But what if the troubles make a major impact on the project delivery? But if a mentor micromanages a mentee too much, it may send a negative message like “my mentor doesn’t trust me”. Therefore, in my experience, a mentor is encouraged to ask for an update especially when the trouble may have a major impact on 1) Quality of the deliverables, 2) Cost (inclusive of man-hour) and 3) Delivery (deadline). It gives members some space to manage and priority to update.

Set up regular meetings to discuss the work that has been made, look for obstacles and make any necessary adjustments to the plans. In order to make enormous projects more achievable, you should encourage your mentee to break them down into smaller amounts. When it is possible to do so, suggest that duties be delegated to colleagues or that they be outsourced. Maintain a flexible mindset and adjust your priorities in response to the shifting conditions.

Assist your mentee in determining the personal stressors that are associated with the workload and the deadlines. Providing instruction on how to manage stress through the use of relaxation techniques, physical activity, good diet and proper sleep hygiene is essential. In order to prevent burnout and to keep energy levels up, you should remind your mentee to arrange breaks at various points during the day. If you want your mentee to avoid feeling overwhelmed, you should assist them in setting goals that are both realistic and attainable.

Discuss what worked effectively in the past when it came to managing deadlines and be sure to pinpoint areas that could use better. In order to prevent making the same mistakes again, you should encourage your mentee to think back on previous events and learn from them. In order to improve performance and get new ideas, it is recommended that you solicit feedback from your coworkers or bosses. In order to assist your mentee in developing their skills, you should share resources with them such as articles on time management, workshops or applications.

Your mentee should be encouraged to seek support and direction from you, their supervisors or colleagues for assistance and direction. The best way to use different points of view is to have a collaborative conversation about potential solutions and difficulties. Encourage the person you are mentoring to share useful materials and tools with other people in order to encourage collaboration and the exchange of information. Boosting your mentee's drive and confidence can be accomplished by recognising and celebrating their accomplishments.