Help! workload overwhelm

[MyUsernameIsBetterThanYours]

• I am mum to a toddler. I work 4 days a week and childcare on 5th day
• I work in a medium sized charity, a rung below senior management
• I’m the only person in my team, the role involves lots of legal deadlines and working directly to senior management and board - basically the majority of my workload is quite exposed, lots of deadlines, little flexibility.
• When I was employed (over a year ago) I said the role didn’t sound part time and they needed to be confident it was
• It is not part time, I have worked full time the past 2 months straight, picking up work on evenings and my non-working day.
• I’m completely stressed and overwhelmed, I have anxiety anyway, and having trouble sleeping.

I suppose I’m looking for reassurance, advice, because it feels like I’m not able to see the wood for the trees and I’m worried I’m going to screw up something important. And I am really struggling to shut off from work and relax during weekends and evenings.

I have raised workload issues with my manager but there’s not a significant amount that can be delegated. And the support I have from our admin team is fragmented and needs lots of oversight.

Apart from anything else if you are regularly working full time hours you need to start getting paid for full time, or time off in lieu. You were assured this was a part time job so don't doubt yourself. Is it the volume or the nature of the work that is requiring more hours? In other words do you feel you're not working at the required speed, or there is too much work, or is it that there are time sensitive tasks to be done when you are not supposed to be working? If the work isn't able to be delegated could it be split off so another role owns some of it permanently?

BTW not to suggest I think you're not working fast enough. Just that if you know the root cause of the problem it will be easier to start to address. I've been there with the overwhelm and it's horrific so I sympathise.

There’s too much work.

The nature of the job is high work load at the best of times but I also have a really big review/project.

I actually feel like I’m at crisis point because I worked out on the way home I have about 25 days worth of work to deliver in the next 16 days and none of it can be deferred. And that’s not even taking into account meetings or incidental BAU.

I feel sick.

I obviously have to talk to my boss tomorrow otherwise some fairly business critical things will implode if I can’t offload them to someone else.

You need to really lay this out to management. Explain you have 25 days worth of work and only 16 days so you need help to prioritise: what can be cut entirely and what can be delayed? Don't be fobbed with it all needs to be done, because that just isn't possible.

Do you have clear objectives and a work plan? Is that time accounted for? I would workplan my staff (also medium sized charity) to about 80% capacity, to give a bit if flexibility and give for the ad-hoc stuff. Working at anything about 90% is completely unsustainable and something has to give, either you don't deliver it all, the extend the timelines on projects or the employ more staff. Those conversations need to be had.

Well you have quantified what needs to be done and how far short the organisation is (NOT how far short you are), and you are flagging this up so it can be dealt with rather than letting it happen. The work either needs to be prioritised into must/should/could/won't (Google Moscow priorities, it's much more efficient than high, medium or low) and then only the must haves get delivered on time or else someone found to do it.

I know that planning like that eats into delivery time too so that needs to be remembered. I've found myself panicking when asked to plan my own workload and reallocate tasks while still delivering at 100%. That's because it's not physically possible.

You're not failing here. Someone else hasn't planned appropriately and you are calling it out so a solution can be found, that's all. Please don't feel sick.

@LadyChilli

“I've found myself panicking when asked to plan my own workload and reallocate tasks while still delivering at 100%. That's because it's not physically possible.”

This really chimes. The pace and volume has been too high for too long and I haven’t had the headspace to plan and reallocate, I’ve just been furiously trying to meet deadlines and not drop things and I’ve made it work by working overtime but even that’s not enough now and I can’t keep it up.

I talked to my boss this morning and basically said the wheels were about to fall off my bus and I needed help. I was able to identify which things could reasonably be allocated elsewhere so I could deliver the critical work that has to be done by me.

The problem is everyone is operating close to max threshold of capacity. But I suppose that’s my boss’s problem to solve.

I still feel shaky and very stressed and like I want to crawl under a duvet for a month but I suppose I’ve had the conversation, I’ve flagged that I need help and how that could happen and she’s said we’ll come up with a plan. So I guess at least it’s not all on me now.

I will use those Moscow priorities in the written follow up I send her today.

Well done. Remember only the must haves need to be delivered by the deadline. If you need to crawl under the duvet for a bit that might be a must have as well, or at the very least a should. The alternative might be a breakdown which benefits nobody.