When I say I want to coach people who struggle with work overload and overwhelm, stress and pressure – it’s because I have been there. I know where you come from.

Out of my 20 years in the corporate world, I spent 17 in the financial industry. The majority of those years with the world’s biggest wealth manager. I know a thing or two about expectations and demands, trying to fit countless meetings and tasks into a day.

I’ve often found that there was no support system in place. Coaching definitely wasn’t something that would openly be talked about. Everyone was busy with their own struggles that they could not take any time to think or care about others.

So here’s what I did to get out the busyness cycle:

1. Recognising work never ends. This is the most important one for me. You can’t really ever be done with work. You complete one task, the next one awaits you. This freed me from the stress of trying to get everything done all the time, because it simply isn’t possible.
2. Prioritising health and wellbeing. I live by the motto that healthy employees equals better results. This is also true for myself. I’ve had jobs where I started at 7am and worked until 7pm and more. But I had to stop this. 12 hours including half an hour lunch break? I knew I would not be able to keep up with this pace and so I learned to literally drop the pen way earlier than 7.
3. Going for walks. This one goes hand in hand with health and wellbeing. I developed the habit of going outside for walks. It was easy while in lockdown and living next to a park. But I would also do this back at the office, just go for a walk around the block. Without the phone. It can work wonders.
4. Delegating whatever doesn’t serve your goals. As a line manager one of my most important tasks was to delegate work. Not only do you not have the time to be involved in everything, but your team also expects to play a role and take responsibility. Avoid frustration by delegating work to them.
5. Learn to say no. I’ve never had any problems saying no. Saying no leads to people respecting you. And it doesn’t hurt anyone. It helps you communicate your priorities to people around you. If you have a hard time saying no, let’s start with this one.
6. Coaching. I’ve worked with a coach to help me deal with my own expectations of being in a leadership role. This helped me better deal with my pressure and stress. I felt a significant change already after the first session.

What is your secret to beating work overload? Have you given leadership coaching a thought?

What’s holding you back to make a change in your own life or career? Happy to hear your thoughts on this.

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