How do I stop bouncing around?
A coachee started a new job and was feeling overwhelmed. She emailed me a question about how to manage bouncing around. Q&A w/ tips below.
Q:
I could use a little help with managing the overwhelming work. I find myself very frustrated and nearing cynicism towards the company and project I am working on. Then I get excited and honored that I am the one tasked with solving it. I bounce around a lot with where to start and omg I have so much to do and lack all the experience to solve it. Any suggestions on how to manage the bouncing around? I really want to crush this role, but each day varies so much in my north star.
A:
I’m sorry for the frustration and overwhelm. Starting a new job can be challenging for sure. Often strong emotions contribute to feeling overwhelmed (in addition to too much to do/process or too hard of a challenge). Fear in particular is a common culprit of bouncing around. It’s a lot easier to focus when you are calm.
Below are tips for managing workload, but my #1 suggestion is to hold space for your emotions.
Space might look like time to chat with a supportive friend, breathing, journaling, or walking. I put some of my favorite prompts for exploring emotions in this instagram post.
There are other great techniques from ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) that you can learn more about in The Happiness Trap.
I'd recommend adding some structure to help you hold this space. For example, set reminders throughout the day to breathe and check-in, book time in your calendar for walks, or create a morning routine around journaling. If one of these sounds easiest, pick it and set it up now.
Perfectionism, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough or accepted are fickle beasts. From what I’ve heard so far about your team, no one (except you) is expecting you to have experience you don’t have. Your fresh eyes are a huge asset! As far as crushing it goes…it’s worth getting clear on what that means to you and steps you can take towards it, but it’s equally important to recognize that failure is part of learning and growing - a belief that is foundational to a growth mindset.
Remember you are in a transition phase, a growth spurt of sorts. There’s a lot of new and discomfort, but it’s not going to feel this way forever. Take it one - possibly awkward - step at a time, appreciating the value of who you are right now.
More Tips:
Hold time each day for processing and planning. Book some time (usually beginning and/or end of work day) and check-in:
Reflect on what you’ve done and celebrate it! Celebrating wins can build confidence, energy and counter that feeling of always being behind.
What new information or requests did you get?
Revisit/update the bigger picture goals, challenges and to-do’s - did anything shift?
Take a moment to proactively choose what you are going to work on next (what’s most important? What one thing are you going to focus on?) vs reactively working on something because it's emotionally urgent, most recent or easiest.
Break it down. If a task feels overwhelming, make it bite size. What’s one small step you could take towards it? If it’s not clear how to break it down, try committing to a certain block of time to work on it each day or listing out all the questions you have about it.
Manage Inbounds
If a new task comes up, don’t do it right away. Add it to the queue for evaluating (during your planning time).
If your boss or other stakeholders are adding to the to-do’s, manage them by saying things like: “I can do this after XYZ” or “If I prioritize that it will mean de-prioritizing this (with xyz impact)” or “How important is this?”
