What not to say to an overwhelmed high performer!

How To Get It All Done?

Back in the day - circa 2013 - I jumped on the productivity bandwagon. I consumed countless books on doing more in less time so that I could do even more with all the time I had. I downloaded all the productivity apps, binged all the "expert" podcasts, and tested strategy after strategy, system after system until I realized something:

Productivity hacks were supposed to make my life easier, but instead, they made it busier and more stressful.

FACT: being more productive is not the answer to being over-scheduled, overworked, and over-committed.

It's your beliefs, not your to-do list or your actions, that are both the real problem and the true solution to overwhelm.

The Worst Advice Ever

The worst advice a coach can give an exhausted high-performer is advice on better time management strategies.

Instead of reducing her exhaustion, it will only allow her to pile on more work and propel her even faster toward complete burnout!

But coaches do it all the time.

The Real Problem & the Real Solution

The real solution to being overworked isn't better productivity; it's understanding why you're internally compelled to do more.

It's your beliefs, not your to-do list or your actions, that are both the real problem and the true solution to overwhelm. What drives you to take it all on? Why do you say yes to everything and choose exhaustion over setting limits?

I have a client, let's call her Beth*. A few months ago, we realized that she was slipping back into patterns that had landed her on medical leave for burnout last year.

Beth and I had gone over several solid strategies to do less, set better limits with herself and others, and gain control over her overpacked workday. It helped some, but what made the biggest difference was understanding why she felt compelled to step back into those dynamics despite knowing how bad things could get for her.

The moment Beth figured out the real reason she worked herself to exhaustion was when she fully committed to breaking the pattern.

Suddenly, saying no to 10h+ days became easier, making better decisions about her future at an organization that doesn't believe in self-care was less scary, and setting hard limits around working out, sleep, and her health all came more naturally!

Beth is more confident, healthier, and has more breathing room in her life.

Is that something you would like?

What's keeping you working longer, harder, more than you need to? And if you addressed the real problem, what would that unlock for you?

I hope you take a few minutes today to think through these questions. Feel free to jump in the comments and share your answers, and above all, make sure you spend at least 1 hour of the day doing nothing or something just for yourself.

And if you're interested in uncovering those four elements, I’m hosting a live training on August 28th designed to unlock BIG insights to help you gain more clarity, focus, and motivation around what it takes to be highly successful and DEEPLY fulfilled.

Together, we'll work through 5 questions to help you define your objective, gain clarity on the essentials, and articulate some of what you need to take action and stay motivated. Join live or access the replay; click this link to register.

About Dr. Alessandra Wall & Noteworthy

Worldwide, smart, ambitious executive women work three times as hard for a fraction of the influence they deserve. Invisible, indispensable, and impotent, success becomes a gilded cage rather than the key to more freedom, fulfillment, and impact.

Excellence-driven, they show up fully for everyone - all the time - and discover that high-level success can come at too high a cost if you don't have the right systems or support.

I've made it my mission to help women in senior leadership show up with authority, own their value, leverage their influence, and make a meaningful impact without sacrificing everything on the altar of success.

I lead this work through Noteworthy, an exclusive executive coaching and consulting firm that advances senior executive women in STEM and finance and supports companies that seek to retain, elevate, and attract them.

This work has transformed the lives of hundreds of executive women in the US and Europe and changed workplaces for the better at scores of companies ranging in size from agile start-up to Fortune 100.

In October 2024, we're launching Elite Executive , a year-long small-group coaching/mastermind experience for Senior Executive Women who are driven to excel, feel compelled to make a difference, and believe that their mission & drive shouldn't come at the cost of their fulfillment and happiness.

Interested? Let's talk!

• Connect with me on LinkedIn here.
• Jump on a 20-minute connect call here.
• Need a great speaker for your event, newscast, show, or podcast? Email me [email protected]