How to navigate extremely high workload without burning out

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We have the best intentions to set healthy boundaries at work but it happens to all of us: we end up with a period of extremely high workload and tight deadlines. The question is: How can you navigate this period of time such that you still ensure that you take care of your well-being? 

We answer this question in today's coffee chat and provide examples of how we each navigated an extremely stressful work period just a few months ago!

Key take-aways: 

• Never compromise your basic needs: nutrition & sleep
• Strictly prioritizing what is truly important in the moment 
• Choose one thing that you will do for yourself regularly, no matter how busy it gets

If you loved this episode and are excited to continue joining our Friday Coffee Chats, subscribe to never miss a chat and recommend the podcast to a friend!

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro & welcome
• 4:40 Let's talk about navigating extremely busy times
• 11:25 Tip #1: Cover your basic needs
• 17:28 Tip #2: Choose one thing that gives you life
• 19:33 Tip #3: Scrap the noise
• 22:26 Tip #4: Schedule time off right after the deadlines
• 25:00 Wrap up

Transcript

And that's something that's not really talked about. You know, I also noticed, you know, even with the advice, it's like, yeah, you know, make sure that you sleep well. Make sure that you eat well. And what if it's so busy you can't even do that? 

Hello, everyone. You're listening to The Happy 9 to 5 Podcast where we invite you to join our Friday coffee chats and talk about everything work life balance, well-being, confidence and creating a healthy, happy and fulfilling workplace.

We are Eleni and Tina. Founders of The Happy 9 to 5, work psychologists, besties and hosts of this podcast. So sit back, grab your favorite brew and enjoy.

Hello everyone. Welcome back to The Happy 9 to 5 Friday Coffee Chats.

Welcome.

Welcome. We're sitting here drinking from my favorite cups that you have with two very not nice expressions. Swear-words. But we're having tea. I don't know what tea you made, but I'm having green. Did you make green?

No. You're having a white tea.

I'm having a white tea.

I don't think I have green at the moment.

You know that there's like baristas. Do you think there is anybody for like, like a name for tea, I'm sure. Or maybe.

I'm sure. Maybe not in the Netherlands. Maybe because.

It's coffee.

Stop.

Because every time I come here, you're like, giving new tea to try tea ceremony.

Yeah. Yeah. I need to get like.

I need to get I need to go through the teas also.

And too many. But yeah, yeah, I'm just having some mint blueberry fusion. And then it's like a mixed one and I don't typically like, you know, the fruit teas. I really do not like them typically, but this one is really nice because it's very natural non aroma types.

Okay, I'll try that one. Like after.

I think you actually.

Got me.

This one.

After hours or what? It's cool. Like I think.

Actually this one was a present from you. Oh, this one. Yeah.

It's really nice. I see such a bad from.

Those other remembering because, like, it's going to be like an amazing.

Tea.

That I never tried before. Oh, yeah. It's just like a smooth, smooth one.

Amnesia on my side.

That's okay. It's been, like, over half a year, probably. Okay, so, you know.

I am excused for your excuse. What are the.

The vibes are the vibes are vibing the vibe, Surviving like I woke up early this morning and I had to run some errands in the city, so, you know, it wasn't actually like that crazy early, but, you know, it was around the time when the shops open and whether the cafe's open and people start being outside. But it's still early.

So, you know, it's not super busy. And it's just like you see people getting ready for the day, you know, the shops, I don't know, they're getting the deliveries. And then like slowly they're opening up and, you know, they turn the lights on or.

I see like the beginning of a mall.

Yes, exactly. We're like a nice a winter movie or something, because that was also the thing, right? It was so cold. But like like cold, crisp air, amazing rise. And there were people just, you know, walking around with like coffee to go and I don't know, it was a vibe, I have to say. It was a vibe. I was low key.

Like, I wish I didn't have to run all these errands. I can just like also get a.

Coffee, you know, like, sit down.

Somewhere, just enjoy. But like, yeah, I just had to do stuff, so I was a bit on time. How do you say it? Limited schedule. No, I was under the schedule, but it was icy. It was such a vibe and it really set the tone and I have to some degree, I really like actually waking up earlier, like going to the city that early and just seeing the city wake up.

Basically.

There is a magic.

There's something special, right?

Colder like there is a magic to it all things like, you know, the people and all of this stuff is kind of warming you up when it's cold. But I don't know. There is a certain a certain vibe to it for sure.

Yeah. Because I have to say I don't really like it when it gets too busy. Yeah, this is like a bit hectic.

I'm a busy people.

Yeah, it gets a bit hectic. It's not cute. It's not cozy. So it's not a vibe.

Hectic.

Talking about hectic. This will be what we will be talking about.

Today and next.

Friday. Coffee chat. Maybe some background about it. Tina and I, we have just kind of, you know, carve out of a longer period of time where things were very stressful, lots of deadlines. If you guys have listened to some of the previous, you know, Friday coffee chats, especially the summer ones, we talked about how we were more or less forced to have a corporate somewhere and that we tried to do the best out of it.

And then we had quite a few deadlines coming up, quite a few things to do. It was a very intense time and now like kind of we came out of this very hectic time and looking back, there were some learnings.

For sure, For sure. I think it was in general like we kind of set the tone in summer to like really, you know, get things done. And for me it was the fall like that was like peak, Yeah, busy where there were like weeks when I would just write down things in my to do list, put them in my calendar like time, blog them in my calendar, and I would forget about them because I knew they were in my calendar and I would run on autopilot.

Yeah, because they wouldn't like my mind would be so, you know, the workload would be so high and my mind would be so scattered if I didn't, like, make sure that it's in my calendar, I would completely forget it. Yeah. And that also kind of kept me accountable as well, you know, because when the day when the working day came, I didn't have to like, think about what do I do today.

It was all planned out. I just needed to look at my calendar and do what it says. Yeah. So my calendar actually became my boss. Like completely flag taking and scheduled through. Exactly. And this is just and on some Fridays I just remember I was like, Wow, I did so much this week. Yeah. You know, when you're like on autopilot, the entire week and then only after it's done, only when it's like the weekend, you realize what a frenzy this was.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Because you're so focused on just getting things done because you have to and it's so busy, you don't have time to think about it. And so what you said, like once you're out of that and once it's done, looking back, you're like, Damn, that was a bit cray cray.

Yeah.

Yeah. But yeah, you guys. So to bring it all together, today's coffee Chat is going to be about how to make sure that you navigate the storm when you have extreme workload and how you can deal with these high workload periods when they happen in a way where you can still make sure that you go through it. And I still kind of say in the end, it does.

Give you burnout, basically, that you're doing everything to avoid going down that spiral, because as we mentioned in previous episodes, especially about burnout, the most difficult thing there is to bounce back from it. And it's really important to like catch yourself during these workload periods and also make sure that you also take care of yourself. So, you know, but before we kind of dive into the ways in which you can still make sure that you keep your sanity when you have these high workload periods with deadlines or a lot of time pressure, I think is really important to have a discussion about control here.

Yeah, because we tend to we advocate a lot on our social media that, you know, you can take back control. And some people would argue and of course their opinions are always welcome, that some people would argue that. What control, what control are you talking about? My boss is all over me. I have a million deadlines. And that's a fair point.

You know, and of course, you may feel that you don't even have like an ounce of control or like, even, I don't know, 1% of control over your time or over your life when you are encountering such periods when there's deadlines, people are all over you. Everybody wants something and you don't even have time to breathe. Yeah.

When you have to put in the overtime as well. Exactly. And then the question is like, well, what is left from the time?

So we get it. You know, you might actually argue that I don't know what kind of control you're talking about because I have no control. But what's important to kind of remember here and, you know, we see you like we know that this happens. It also happens to us a lot of the times. But what is important here is to understand that even when you don't have control, you have control, maybe not the control that you want to have.

Yeah, maybe It's really tough in these moments to even find areas of control that you could implement in your life. But you still have it and that is your power and that will always be your power.

No matter how limited, really. No matter how limited that.

So this episode is really going to be about how to find these areas of control. Even when you feel like everything is just crumbling and you're overwhelmed and you don't know what to do because everybody wants something from you and you don't have any control over your time or over the tasks that you are doing. So how do you maintain that control even when it's that low so that you can still feel like you are saying that you can You have some ownership over your time and over your life, even if it's limited and navigate the storm so you don't get exhausted and don't get burnout afterwards.

And I would also add to that these things are especially important when those are very busy, extreme workloads. Times are going on for a longer period of time. The longer the period like that stressful period, the more important it is to really make sure that you have some control and, you know, make use of the even limited control that you have because that will actually help you to recover and like, you know, have these moments of recovery throughout.

Exactly. Exactly. And I mean, of course, work is very demanding and sometimes it's more demanding that we're than we're used to, but we can still do some stuff about it. So without further ado, we're going to go into four ways for strategies that you can use to maintain this control. And if you know about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you probably go about because like super popular, you know that the basic level is your basic needs.

And whenever we are feeling stressed and whenever we are, we feel out of control. This is but usually what kind of goes down the drain first?

Yeah, this is where we try to cut corners.

Where we try to sacrifice our basic needs that are actually our foundation, that are keeping us sane, that are keeping, you know, it's basically like the core functions that then that are keeping us from not burning out, that are, you know, helping us deal with whatever comes to us. So when we talk about basic needs, what we really mean here is very simple things that tend to be neglected during such stressful periods.

And the first one is sleep.

Yeah, sleep is so important. You have to make sure that you get at least 7 hours per night, because I feel like sleep, especially when I think about very busy periods, you know, you are stressed, so it might be more difficult to fall asleep or you work more hours, which, you know, may mean that you sacrifice some sleeping hours for that.

But sleep is so important to well, not only survival, obviously, but it's just really if you lose, if you don't sleep well for a longer period of time, you will not be able to basically perform the normal things anymore. I mean, I'm not even going to go into, you know, the whole health issues that come with a lack of sleep.

But actually your work also suffers from that, which you especially don't want during a time where you have to get things done and you have deadlines to meet. You want to be able you want your brain to be able to perform as best as possible. And one important condition for this to happen is to have proper sleep.

And you can implement different strategies here. I think we are actually implementing this quite differently because I tend to like make up for the sleep that I lost during the week. Like for example, when it's very stressful and when there's a lot of like work to be done, I make up for it during the weekends, you know?

So like in what way?

I sleep until like 11, like normal hour.

And so jealous. I'm so jealous that you can still do that. Yeah, but you come to.

Bed early, you know, like you really make an effort to go to bed.

I try. I try.

So it's really like you can implement various strategies here where you either make up for to sleep during the weekend or kind of don't accumulate the sleep that basically. Yeah. Or you regulate your daily to make sure that you are getting those 7 hours of sleep as well.

Yeah. Yeah. And whenever you know whenever you don't have to have an alarm on, just don't have it.

I just don't, you don't have to.

Let your body like, you know, get the sleep that it needs. But a second basic need is also proper nourishment. And I'm so guilty of this one. When things get busy, the last thing I think about is cooking nutritious food.

Yeah. And also, they are so tired. The only thing you want is just from comfort food. Because for me, the food is almost like a reward, you know? Yeah, And especially during stressful periods.

I only want, like, I don't know, like.

Some fries or something, you know, like, really?

But yeah, kind of. Show me it's McDonald's, but for me, it's McDonald's. I need those chicken nuggets in front.

Don't panic.

And while this is fine, every now and then and again, you know, during those very stressful times fueling your body and fueling your brain with nutritious food, it's just so important to help it just perform and keep performing. And yeah, you being able to a feel good and be being able to go through such a stressful through such a stressful time for sure.

For sure. But you know, thinking about it, I think another very important way to deal with covering your basic needs when you really feel like you can't, is to really rely on your support system. Yeah, and that's something that's not really talked about. You know, like I also noticed, you know, even with the advice, it's like, yeah, you know, make sure that you sleep well and make sure that you eat well.

And what if it's so busy you can't even do that, you know, And this is where your support system can really, really help, whether, you know, if you live alone, these can be your friends, It can be your family, you know, even like virtually, they can still help. You know, your friends can check in on you, you know, ask if you need any, any groceries or anything.

And if you live with somebody else, if you have roommates or partners, you can also make sure that you communicate like, hey, you know, it's a really, really busy period. And I would so appreciate it if you could take over, you know, some of the chores for the upcoming weeks. I will make sure that, you know, I take over in the next period.

But right now, I really need to focus on this. And these people are there. You know, it's like a friend and a need, basically, you know? Yeah, it's really using your support system when you really need it. And there's nothing wrong in asking for help, especially with these very basic and fundamental thing that.

Is so true. I feel like friends or, you know, a family partner or whatever, it's also such a good way to have them remind you to take a break, have them remind you, Hey, it's time for lunch. Do you want to have lunch together or Hey, are you still working? Maybe that's enough for today. And it might feel like.

Like, No, I still have to work. But, you know, these reminders that are external and coming from, you know, other people can really set you up for success here when it is really, really difficult to prioritize yourself in that moment.

For sure, and talk about prioritizing oneself. The second thing, the second strategy or so when you're dealing with a lot of workload, a lot of stressful periods at work and you still want to maintain control, is to actually have one thing, just have one, one thing that you do for yourself regularly that gives you life.

That is so important.

And you don't have to like overwhelm yourself with this, You know, a whole menu of things that you can do for such have one, but do it consistently.

Yeah. And it doesn't have to be every day, but have some regularity in it, right? It doesn't have to be something that you do every single day. This might not be feasible, but again, having something that you look forward to regularly and where you're like, Oh, this one hour is just for me and I'm looking forward to it.

And then while you're there, you can actually switch off. It makes such a difference, I would say for me that was Pilates during summer. It played such a big role. I was I was like, Finally, I have something that doesn't make me miserable right now because, you know, I had so much to do. It's like that was like a, like, breath of fresh air.

Mm No, for sure. I mean, it's also like the gym you go, it's like you switch off. Everything is like tunnel vision and everything you need to do is breathe and like, okay. Also make sure you know, you don't fall down or something. But yeah, it's really about this one thing, this one consistent thing that you can do for yourself if do it regularly that also replenishes your resources like a Yeah, a breath of fresh air.

Finally, throughout all of this, you know, turmoil.

I also feel like it helps that it's time bound, you know? And, you know, it's like, okay, it's one hour or half an hour or whatever it is, right? It's not going to be much longer, whatever. But like, I can take that time for myself. Like it's going to be such a game changer, you guys.

And if you're trying to convince yourself that you don't have that one hour, I mean, if you have 10 hours to work, you can find one hour for yourself.

The next strategy is to scrap the noise. And this is so important, you guys, because there's so many things around us that constantly demand our attention. There's so many busy tests, there's so many unnecessary tasks out there, and they.

Really take on you real.

Estate in our minds. Basically, you.

Get rid of them.

Like, seriously.

It's also about the people who continue thinking that you are working as usual and they demand of you a lot of like things that you don't have time for. Yeah, like, wait a minute, you know what's happening in my life right now? Like, everything is kind of burning and I really don't have time to meet right now and discuss this.

Can we please postpone it?

Absolutely. Like, this really is the time to prioritize and set boundaries in a way that will help you succeed in what you have to do.
Yeah, it's like having a tunnel vision. Yeah. So you have a tunnel vision on this one deadline that or, you know, this one project that is taking up so much space in your mind and you get rid of the other things that are just clutter. Yeah. And for example, that can be meetings that it's not really that necessary to attend them or that can be other tasks that of course they're, they are on your to do list, but maybe they shouldn't be on your to do list.

Now. Maybe they can be put a bit later. So it's really about having this filter of should I do this now? Is that really necessary? And if so, how does that help me? Yeah, you know, and like asking yourself these questions, whenever you have something, when you whenever you decide whether this is something that you should attend, a meeting that you should attend or a task that you need to do, these questions can really help you understand what you need to prioritize in that moment, and also help you see whether that one task is in line with all of this, you know, storm that you are going through or if it's something that can actually
be done later on.

Yeah, And this also it's not just about tasks or I guess. Yeah, response taking on responsibilities. It can also be meetings. If there is a meeting that adds nothing for you, like where it's completely unnecessary, skip it as possible.

And that's okay. You can also communicate this to other people like, Hey, you know, I really love to attend this meeting. However, I have this and this responsibilities right now that really require my full focus and you could even ask, could you like give me the gist of the meeting afterwards? Like, yeah, sure I can, I can read the minutes and get feedback on that.

That's helpful. So you're still contributing, you know, but not in a way where it takes up so much time that you could have used to deal with other more important things.

Exactly. The fourth and final strategy is to schedule time off right after the deadline. The deadlines have passed or once this workload high workload period has passed. Right. And this one is so important to really make sure that you get time to recover from this stressful period, you will be exhausted, your mind will be exhausted, you might be emotionally exhausted, you might be physically exhausted after this time.

Schedule time off right after that, you will need it. And this is really what is also important to avoid burnout from from experiencing burnout, because again, I think we've said it before, but the issue with what leads to burnout is not just high workload. It's the lack of time to unwind and relax and recover. Yeah. So if you know, there is a prolonged period of time where things are very stressful, very busy, make sure that you have that time off planned after that.

And it's also giving you something to look forward to. Yes. Especially if you like, planned something exciting, you know, afterwards. And you really kind of reward yourself for.

All the.

Work that you have just done. And you know that reward is coming. You just have to like, you know, go for the storm. Really focus on what you need to focus right now. And then you're going to get this reward, which can be, I don't know, something like going to a spa or just getting some time off and finally doing a hobby that you wanted to do, work it or a trip or.

Or do nothing or.

Do nothing existing.

Nothing or just.

Chill and just watch something, you know, like you can really plan this out and make sure that you get the rest that you need after such an intense period of time.

I have to say this is probably one of the number one of the things that keeps me going during stressful periods like that. Just the thought of it's going to be okay. And I do this now, but I have some time plan just for me after that where I can completely forget about everything. I even work.

Related sometimes, you know, I'm like.

Yeah, it's like a calendar.

For weeks and then, you know, and then I'm going to, like, finally get some time off and replenish my resources. And this is why we get that time off like it's there for a reason. And we just need to use it very wisely to make sure that we basically recharge the batteries.

Now this is definitely the time to use that. PTO.

Yeah, for sure.

So you guys to recap the four strategies where even when you feel that you don't have control, you can still take some control over your life during highly, highly busy workload periods or the first one making sure that your basic needs are covered. So that includes sleep and nourishment, making sure to also rely on your support system. The second strategy is to have one thing that you do for yourself regularly that absolutely gives you life.

The third one is to prioritize set boundaries and scrap the noise around you. And the fourth one is to make sure that you schedule time off right after the deadlines are done or right after this. You know, exhausting high workload period is over.

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