How do you juggle multiple relationships and priorities without burning out?

As you grow in your career and in life, it is important to focus on QUALITY of relationships more than QUANTITY, invest time in friendships that uplift you, support you in tough times and add to your happiness. In an organisation identify leaders / sponsors that guide you in your career path and have focused conversations with them.It is important to identify the relationships outside and inside the organisation that drain your energy and are not adding value to your life.

This is out of order with the next step. Begin setting expectations in your relationships around your capacity, boundaries, needs, etc. Start today if you haven't already. We are talking about humans! That will inform this step. If we were managing a burnout situation, possibly different, but this is about managing the relationship and priorities without burning out.

Managing the expectations and specify in advance a possible return reply may do. Of course it does require understanding between one another too.

Where ever possible I will try to under promise with the hope and intention to over deliver. I'm echoing some of the previous comments here but trust is earned through honesty and accountability. If you're honest about your capacity to deliver something then you are managing their expectations and if you consistently meet those expectations then people can place trust in what you say. If you over promise then the risks become either underdelivering and eroding that hard earned trust, or overworking to meet the obligation at the expense of your personal time and mental health. Being honest with your self and others and owning your mistakes will foster trust and trust is the thing that maintains a relationship.

Juggling relationships and priorities is like a balancing act, but here are some crumbs which I hope helps. First, sort out what truly matters to you. Then, set boundaries by communicating your commitments. Time management's a game-changer – use a calendar to avoid double-booking. Focus on quality over quantity in relationships – meaningful chats beat constant check-ins. Self-care's a must – sleep, eat well, and exercise to recharge. Saying "no" is okay!!! Flexibility is key, life's full of surprises. Your support network is golden – friends, family, even a neighbor's dog can lend a hand. Lastly, remember to take breaks. Mindfulness and deep breaths keep stress at bay. With these tips, you'll juggle like a pro without burning out!

Knowing your own limits, communication, and responsible decision points are key. Offer updates to your stakeholders on an appropriate cadence so they have up-to-date visibility on things you're involved in, progress you're making to move things forward, issues you're running into (risks), what got done, what you plan on eliminating, etc is important. Let them know if something is moving lower on the priority list. It is your responsibility to ask all the questions you need before committing. Ensure critical stakeholders feel heard and have a system to escalate. Expectations of those who got de-prioritized will better understand when they have more visibility.

Understanding your limitations is key to accomplishing your objectives and avoiding burnout. In previous roles, I learned evaluating my capacity before agreeing to a new task helped me stay more productive, improved my job satisfaction, and improved my mental health. Taking time before answering if you can take on more is ok and even recommended. This will help you avoid overreaching. A great way to do this is to simply reply “ I’ll have to check my schedule and get back to you” is a great phrase to make part of your daily phrases.

I agree with the points made by everyone here and would like to add one: Be a trusted advisor to the client. Make sure that you have open channels of communication with all stakeholders of the business, not just the front team that is working with you. Schedule on going meetings with the business team that provide the input to the "front team". Get their input to project progress and listen very carefully to their input.

I found I was able to significantly improve my productivity and the quality of my work by implementing a blocking approach in my schedule. To do this, I identify key projects and prioritize them in my schedule by blocking dedicated time to them, free from any distraction, to be executed with total focus. This greatly enhances my creativity, thought process, and final results. It also is a great way to ensure your time and energy is in alignment with your major priorities.

I agree with Jeanette. Blocking time is a great way to prioritize focus time. In the book, 10x is easier then 2x, the author discusses this exact point. Focus on the 20% and delegate the 80% to someone else. I’m not great at it yet, but when I stick to it, it’s very helpful.

I agree with Jeannette, blocking my calendar has been a game changer for me. First, I make a list of my TO DO's - Second, I plan the time factor - Third, I block my calendar accordingly - Fourth, I get to work. I am generous with my time blocking slots because if I finish ahead of schedule I can take back time for something else. The biggest factor is to stick to your time slots - do not answer email or your phone while working on your list or project. It is amazing how much you can achieve with proper planning and no interruptions. When I don't follow the plan I find myself busy all day then needing to work after hours for projects or tasks that are a must. It has really helped me achieve work life balance.

Delegation requires that you let go of the process and only focus on the results. Once you realize that it does not matter how your team achieved them as long as the result is what you needed you will be successful.

This step is crucial to performance quality. You can't pour from an empty cup. Prioritize your well-being to bring your best self to all aspects of your life.

This step needs to be a non negotiable. You cannot adequately care for others if you don't first care for yourself. It doesn't have to be a weekend retreat at a spa, but it's important to identify the things that are life-giving to you and make those a routine practice in your life. When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed or your capacity diminishing, it's ok to step away and recharge so that you can show up your best!

I find journaling helpful as it gives a real time reflection of an experience or feeling and allows for analysis later. Being able to identify your feelings, your strengths, weaknesses and even your own bias in situations, will help you better connect with people. Better connection leads to more meaningful conversation. Meaningful conversation leads to more trust, which leads to deeper relationships and better outcomes.

If I take a step back, all that is usually discussed on this topic are trying to divide and set boundaries to the 'competing' priorities/relationships. What if we are to think uniting instead of dividing? Purposefully planning to unite is amazing once mastered. Bring the 2-3 entities that compete for your attention to the same table, expose the challenge and scarcity to all involved, and mutually agree on the compromise that best satisfies all parties involved. It sounds time-consuming and elaborate at first, but it could be as easy as conferencing a third person into a call and settling things in the same time you'd devote to that call in the first place. Not a catch-all for sure, but yet another plan B.