An employee should be required to do anything beyond what they were hired for. But sometimes, a company or a team is suddenly left without a valuable professional, and there is no immediate replacement in sight. In such cases, one of the company’s employees can find themselves doing the work of two employees at once. If you’ve found yourself in such a position, follow these tips to minimize stress and maximize your productivity.
Table of Contents
#1 Set Your Priorities Straight
You can’t possibly deal with the workloads of two people unless you determine your priorities. No matter how exceptional an employee is, they can’t do it all. So the first step that can help you manage too many tasks and responsibilities is to divide them into what matters the most, somewhat, and the least. Get rid of the first group and then try to deal with or delegate the rest.
Luckily, even if you don’t have an assistant and your entire team is too busy to help you, you can rely on professional assistance. For example, if you need to prepare a resume for an employee who is about to leave, hire a professional CV creation service or ask your company’s recruiter to help. Talk to your manager; perhaps, they’ll agree that the extra expenses are justified.
#2 Break Down Large Tasks into Manageable Ones
An employee who has too much on their plate can’t avoid feeling overwhelmed from time to time. Being under pressure results in constant stress and anxiety and is doomed to affect their performance. The strategy that can help is itemizing one’s day-to-day tasks.
So whenever you’re assigned a big project that takes much time and effort to complete, break it down into smaller steps. They won’t look as terrifying. In turn, you’ll feel less overwhelmed and will be less likely to procrastinate.
#3 Learn to Trust Your Team
Even the most experienced and skillful professional can’t handle doing the work of two employees without any help. You can manage the most important responsibilities. But unless you’re ready to work double hours (which you shouldn’t, as this isn’t a sustainable lifestyle), you need to learn how to delegate.
The good idea is to discuss this with your manager, gather your entire team, and decide which of the extra tasks each of the people on the team will do. If you approach this smartly, chances are, you’ll end up with the workload of one and a half employees, which is a little better. But make sure that you have trust in your team members’ abilities. Otherwise, delegating will add to your stress.
#4 Don’t Feel Guilty Taking a Break
Employees with extra-busy schedules always feel like there isn’t enough time in a day. As a result, they often try to add to their working hours by skipping the lunch break, leaving the workplace late, and taking work tasks home. But this is a losing strategy in the long run. If you take no breaks whatsoever, you’re headed for burnout.
Here are a few great ways to spend a short break during the workday that’ll recharge:
- take a 15-minute walk around the block;
- have a coffee with a colleague outside the workplace;
- if you have an onsite fitness center, complete a short workout or a yoga session;
- if you only have 5 minutes or so, go up and down the stairs a couple of times.
You’ll see that any of these can make you feel re-energized. And you’ll become more productive as a result.
#5 Make Thorough To-Do Lists
As an employee doing twice what you’re supposed to be doing, you can’t remember everything. It’s just beyond human capacity. Unless you write everything down to keep track of what you’ve already done and what you have yet to do, you’ll end up forgetting about tasks. It won’t do your performance any good.
Also, mental health professionals claim that there are major psychological benefits to making to-do lists. Every time you cross out yet another task from the list, you get a tiny dopamine boost. As a result, you feel more motivated to keep going. As a chronically stressed and tired hard worker, you need these small psychological rewards.
#6 Know that It’s Okay to Admit You Can’t Do It All
Finally, recognize your limits. If you’re managing the responsibilities of two employees, it’s probably because your manager has asked you to do so. You weren’t hired for this, right? So you should realize that what you’re doing now is a courtesy to your team and company. It’s beyond your regular responsibilities, which means you can’t be perfect at every single task you’re doing now.
So if you feel like something assigned to you is outside your expertise, don’t be afraid to say so. Any adequate manager will understand that since you’re doing twice what you’re supposed to, it’s only natural for you to need help with some tasks. Also, make sure to communicate that you aren’t okay with handling a double workload forever. You’re a temporary “lifesaver” and should be treated as such.
TL;DR
Sure, handling the work of two employees is no joke. You’re bound to be stressed and tired most of the time. But you can minimize the damage if you learn to prioritize, itemize your responsibilities, delegate, and make helpful to-do lists for everything. If you need any help with job search you can ask for help here topresume.Also, convince yourself that you need to take breaks every once in a while (because you really, really, do) and feel comfortable admitting that you aren’t almighty.