I'm getting married in less than three weeks.
I'm not saying this because I plan on acting like a nutcase for the foreseeable future. (Although last weekend, I did have an emotional meltdown over table numbers. So there's that.)
No, I'm saying this so you know I'm not lying when I also say I'm at a busy point in my life. It turns out that wedding planning quickly can turn into a full-time job if you're not careful, and that two full-time jobs can quickly turn into a frenzied panic over table numbers.
(I've also learned that high-pressure crafts are best left to, you know, crafty people.)
That being said, I've had to pull out all the stops lately when it comes to managing my actual career. (You know, the one that pays me instead of the other way around.)
Luckily, I've done this before—not getting married, of course, but navigating my career during particularly busy times. (When you work in law, these things are par for the course, after all.)
So today, I'm going to share the top three things I've learned about managing your career (and yourself) during particularly stressful times of your life. (And as a spoiler: Martha Stewart-ing reception table decorations isn't one of them.)
Like I mentioned in this post about productivity, my biggest weapon against worktime stress is my Outlook calendar; I create new "events" for each task's due date a week ahead of time so I know exactly what I need to accomplish every day.
But when I get really busy, even the act of deciding where on my calendar each task fits is a struggle. So this is where prioritization comes in—I keep a running list (in my case, using Microsoft Excel) of, literally, every single thing I need to do. And I'm talking everything, even things like "check in with Judy about project X" and "email Donna about project Y." (Because when you have a lot going on, it's usually the small things that end up slipping through the cracks.)
I like using Excel for this list because it's easy to move things around, which is helpful for keeping the list ordered based on importance. In other words, if an urgent project comes in, I can easily move my 20-item long list around so "Urgent Project Z" is right up top.
While there are other more sophisticated apps and programs for this out there, I like using Excel because it's so simple. It's pretty much the same as a hand-written list on my desk—but with much better handwriting.
2. Give yourself permission to not be perfect in other areas of your life.
The most important thing I've ever done for my sanity when it comes to hectic times is giving myself permission to let other parts of my life take a back seat.
For example, maybe this is a "me" problem, but I used to feel like keeping my apartment clean and tidy was a reflection of my worthiness as an adult. So when work got busy (and I was trying to fit longer hours in with exercise and a social life), I'd take a look around my unswept floors and dirty laundry in a panic and think, "Oh no. I'm failing adulthood."
In other words, I'd expect myself to be able to add in extra hours at work while still keeping up with every other area in my life. And when I couldn't (i.e., when I was a human), I would get even more stressed out.
But I finally realized that a lot of the pressure I was feeling was totally self-inflicted—and totally unnecessary. My unswept floors were not an indicator of, well, anything, and the only thing that prioritizing work and my health over housework meant was that I'd have to sweep next weekend instead.
It sounds like such a simple revelation, but it is one that made such a difference.
3. Raise the white flag if you need to.
Obviously, this point won't apply to everyone, but it also might apply to more people than you'd think.
The thing is, most employers are human and don't want their employees to drown in overtime and anxiety. So if you're feeling in over your head, sometimes it's best to just let your employer know what's going on.
Of course, you don't want to be the one who never takes on an extra project or who only does the bare minimum. But if your workload is leaving you panicked and burnt out for long periods of time, it might be time to have an honest discussion with your employer. Chances are, your employer doesn't even realize that you are feeling overwhelmed.
This kind of conversation can be difficult and may take a reasonable amount of finesse (this is a great post about how to approach it), but it can also be a game-changer when it comes to keeping your sanity.
How do you handle stressful and/or hectic times in life? What would you add to this list?
