You’re struggling to keep up with the pace of work. How can you catch up and stay on top?

Not only in change management but for everyone. Here are my best tips to be on top of the game again: 1. Prioritize. Not all tasks are created equal. Identify the urgent & important ones (think deadlines & impact), then delegate, reschedule, or even ditch the rest. 2. Block time for tasks in your calendar.This minimizes distractions and helps you stay laser-focused, maximizing your output. 3. Celebrate small wins. This keeps your motivation high and momentum going. So simple :)

The key to catching up and staying on top isn't working harder, but smarter. Enter the Eisenhower Matrix, a game-changer in prioritization. Start by tackling the Urgent and Important tasks. These are your critical deadlines and emergencies. Next, schedule the Important but Not Urgent tasks. These are essential for long-term success but don't require immediate action. Delegate the Urgent but Not Important tasks if possible. These can distract from your main goals. Lastly, eliminate the Neither Urgent nor Important tasks. They're just noise. By applying the Eisenhower Matrix, you focus on what truly matters, ensuring you not only catch up but also excel. Remember, productivity is about making wise choices, not just ticking off boxes.

Identify the specific tasks causing delays and evaluate their urgency and importance. Prioritize responsibilities based on deadlines and impact, distinguishing between essential and less critical assignments. Reflect on potential obstacles hindering your progress, whether it's a lack of resources, unclear instructions, or personal time management issues. This self-awareness will guide your strategy for catching up and staying on top, ensuring a focused and effective approach to regain control of your workload.

Know what is important and what is not. It is not what others think is important. I have a system in Outlook (rules and color coding). Any email that is cc'ed to me, is automatically in light grey and really not visible in my Q. Any emails addressed to me are in the normal color and print. Emails from specific individuals that I have listed, will be in a specific color and highlighted. I instruct my direct reports to put in the subject line "action required", "need a response" or something similar which will provide me with a specific task to take care of. Sending me an email is not a reason for not completing the task. The task is yet the responsibility of the individual.

In facing the challenge of keeping up with a demanding workload, I've adopted a strategic approach. Prioritizing tasks based on urgency and impact allows me to focus on what truly matters and contributes to our company's goals. I also break down larger projects into manageable tasks, making progress more achievable and less overwhelming. Open communication with my team and clients about workload and deadlines helps in finding support and solutions, preventing burnout. Additionally, I dedicate time for skill enhancement, as staying updated with industry trends and efficiency tools boosts my productivity. This balanced approach ensures I catch up effectively while maintaining quality and staying on top of my responsibilities.

First, you need to realize if everything is urgent, then nothing is urgent. Second, if you are struggling with this type of prioritization it may be a culture thing within your company. You have an opportunity to help people level set on what’s actually a priority. Some things may just be an inconvenience and people will need to live with them while you solve problems or tasks that put your people or company at risk. Third, just learn you don’t have to be involved in everything. Even if it’s your area of responsibility. Let your ego go. I don’t have the resources to create all the things and do all the things. If someone else wants to contribute, let them.

Start by recognizing urgent and essential assignments, giving them top priority. Employ a systematic method, organizing tasks by deadlines and importance. Address high-priority items first for a more efficient workflow, ensuring crucial responsibilities are promptly handled. Through strategic organization and prioritization, regain control, stay on top, and navigate your workload successfully.

What I strongly recommend to do is use the 5 - 3 - 1 method to organise your work. In stead of using a long list with hundreds or more of tasks - pick from your list every day: 5 small tasks you want to accomplish - they are easy and nothing more satisfying than ticking things off your list. Think of phone calls, or sending out mails. 3 medium tasks. 1 big task (like writing proposals, presentations, contracts ...). In this way you make your days less daunting and set yourself up for success.

I find it extremely useful to ask and ask again for the why. Why do we need to tackle these tasks? Why do we need them in such and such a timeframe? Why do you want me to do them this particular way? Extra context always boosts clarity on how to prioritize! Many times tasks even get seemingly easier - the extra info shifts our perspective, and new options for solution emerge by the discussion.

Seeking support and feedback from trusted peers and managers can help you gain perspective on where you may need improvement. Hearing what has worked for others or how your successful peers approach tasks can quickly help you gain insight into making rapid changes that you may not have considered. This can often help you course correct and open up pathways never considered with immediate and long lasting improvements for both how you approach your work, as well as what may be considered successful goal attainment.

Sometimes we get caught up in trying to teach ourselves things that we can learn from an elearn already in place. Seeking out premade modules can help accelerate learning which will in turn save time. There are many learning venues and doing your research on the best one for you can help you quickly learn how to become more efficient at performing tasks at hand. Always seek out what's already built out for you. One example is when you need to use a project management software program but you aren't familiar with the program. You can learn to use this software from the manufacturer's website. This can help if you must use the software to move along on a project. This can help you efficiently stay on top of tasks.

Agree with Cheryl completely - look for the easy wins. Another easy win is to become comfortable with Generative AI models like ChatGPT or Google's Gemini. The latter being particularly useful for assisting with research. There are lots of online courses, including free ones from Microsoft to help you get started on this vital learning curve.

1 - Pen and paper. If I am overwhelmed by tasks I write a task list every other day - and when I tick off a task I silently give credit to myself. When I write the next task list I copy the ongoing tasks from the previous list and stop for 1 sec to be content about finished tasks again. Simple but powerful. 2 - Say thank you when someone helped you in a task. Feeling grateful gives you and your colleague an extra boost too. Small things will keep you going for a long period! :)

One of my best lessons came when I was a young executive at GE. About 7pm on a Friday evening my CEO was still in the office and I stopped by to see him. He was a great leader, always direct but fair and a family man who also had 2 kids. He looked exhausted and seriously stressed. I asked him how he was doing and he said he still had a couple of hundred email unread emails which had already been prioritized as important and urgent. We chatted for a while and then he simply closed his laptop. “There will always be matters that others think are the highest priority but at the end of the day you just need to close the shop and if it is critical they will call”, he said with a smile. Good advice on time boundaries from a great leader.

Some very good contributions made and I would like to share my voice on this topic, as we see a lot of this in Corporate. Simple steps I would recommend: 1. Prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. 2. Break tasks into smaller steps for better manageability. 3. Use time management techniques like Pomodoro or time blocking. 4. Delegate tasks to lighten the workload. 5. Seek support from supervisors, colleagues, or resources. 6. Minimize distractions in the work environment. 7. Take regular breaks to rest and recharge. 8. Reflect on work processes and make necessary adjustments. 9. Stay organized using tools like project management software or to-do lists. 10. Prioritize self-care activities for physical and mental well-being.

There are many reasons why work can feel overwhelming, e.g. lack of support. But the one I want to focus on here is burnout. Ongoing severe distress has a strong impact on our ability to focus. Lack of sleep, no breaks, the feeling that one is “running on fumes” all of this accumulates into the need to spend more time processing a problem and because of that one needs to spend more time working through individual tasks that would otherwise be easily done in a fraction of time. We have all witnessed this at some point in our lives. The answer is to take the time to recharge own “batteries” daily. The challenge is that sometimes it is difficult to tell what recharges those batteries. Understanding own needs is essential to find balance.

How we define Success in the result-driven world will determine the pace of our work. I've found that prioritizing the journey over outcomes is key to maintaining a sustainable pace. It's about balancing efficiency with well-being, ensuring that the pursuit of goals aligns with a healthy and sustainable rhythm. In hustling environment, slowing down to appreciate the process and learnings not only enhances my work quality but also allows for a more fulfilling professional journey. Striking this balance enables me to catch up without compromising on the essence of the work.