When meeting with association professionals, we see the same challenge coming up again and again: overwhelming workloads. This past year, your workload has probably grown even more because of the layoff of colleagues, new program responsibilities, and new projects, like virtual conferences. Some of you also had more household responsibilities with your kids at home.
Your usual support group—your work buddies—are no longer a few steps away. You miss walking by their office or cube and exchanging those looks of “I’m dying here.” You could always talk each other off the proverbial ledge.
Many association professionals are Type A overachievers. Your striving personality means you’re not used to backing off a challenge—and by “you,” we mean us too. You’re used to getting high marks, impressive performance reviews, and frequent promotions. You’re in the habit of getting ahead and doing doing doing.
Your inner critic doesn’t make it any easier. You feel you can never get enough done. There’s always more to do. All this striving takes a toll: stress, burnout, and exhaustion.
A huge contributor to burnout is a workload that’s out of your control. Lack of control or autonomy is extremely demotivating. If you can’t control your workload, you must learn how to better manage it.
We see the problem and we can relate to the problem – so we went ahead and compiled 10 strategies for managing your heavy workload, and included a few tactics we’ve incorporated at MemberSuite to alleviate some of the stress.
#1: Find people who lift you up.
Surround yourself with positive people and keep in touch to avoid feeling isolated. Check out the Healthy By Association Facebook group for new connections and support. Avoid contact with toxic individuals around you (physically and online).
Our culture team, made up of staff from different departments, is always trying new ways to bring us together safely in person or virtually so we can connect and have fun during these remote work times. We also make an effort to turn on our video during Zoom meetings to see each other.
#2: Prioritize self-care.
Self-care is not just bubble baths and Netflix; it’s a necessity, not a luxury. Prioritize self-care by establishing healthy work/life boundaries. Create a shutdown ritual for the end of the day. Schedule daily breaks and weekly recovery time.
Get out into nature. We’ve started doing “walk and talks” for some of our one-on-one and departmental meetings and it’s been very refreshing.
Take advantage of employee assistance programs or benefits from your organization’s insurance. For example, because of the pandemic, our policy introduced an additional benefit: three free virtual sessions with a local therapist.
#3: Practice mindfulness to get out of negative thought patterns.
It’s so easy to get caught up in negative thoughts. Your mind becomes trapped in a whirlpool of worries about all the things you have to do tomorrow and what you didn’t get done today. Mindfulness and meditation practices help you learn how to pause before reacting or spiraling into a negative thought pattern. You get better at observing and identifying the thoughts causing your mind to obsess. Besides, most of the things you worry about will never happen or are out of your control to some extent. Focus instead on what you can do today.
#4: Reframe the bad stuff.
We had a lot of practice handling unwelcome news and setbacks in 2020. Take Oprah’s advice for dealing with stressful situations. Instead of going into a funk, ask, “What is this here to teach me?”
#5: Build motivators into your life.
Every morning, jot down three things you’re grateful for. Schedule time for exercise. Set aside an hour every week for professional development. Keep an eye out for opportunities to help someone else, maybe an entry-level person at work or someone in the association community.
#6: Have self-compassion.
Give yourself a break. Don’t beat yourself up for not getting everything done or for experiencing setbacks with new habits. Don’t compare yourself to others.
#7: Ask your boss to prioritize.
Show your boss everything you’re working on. What is a priority and what isn’t? Our team is constantly going through this exercise of identifying and dropping tasks that aren’t a priority so we can focus on items that will help us achieve our goals.
#8: Manage the mess better.
Once you’ve identified priorities it’s time to organize your time. We’ve started using our calendars to block out time for work that requires more focus. We also leverage collaboration tools to organize our projects as a department, which allows us to add deadlines and owners. Now we feel like we’re on top of things instead of drowning in an endless workload.
Other ideas to consider:
- Batch emails and notifications.
- Eliminate distractions.
- Don’t try to multi-task or task-switch. It sets you back.
#9: Run more efficient meetings.
“Yay! Another meeting” – said no one ever. We all have too many meetings that sometimes leave us feeling drained and like nothing was accomplished. One tactic we’ve implemented to deal with this is to use the Level 10 meeting structure for our weekly leadership and department meetings. Timed sections keep things rolling and on point.
Another tactic we’ve tried has been to move away from the typical one-hour meeting and only schedule 15 or 30 minute meetings.
#10: Get coping strategies from your network.
Talk to technology partners about frustrations and laborious processes. Because they know lots of people in your position, they may have suggestions not only for using their technology but for other aspects of your job.
If you have a technology project coming up, find out what you’re getting into so you don’t get walloped by the unexpected. Ask your technology partner about the work ahead. Talk to other people who recently went through the same type of project. Ask for help on ASAE Collaborate, in Association Forum and state SAE communities, and in Facebook groups like Association Chat.
If you can’t change what’s on your overflowing plate, hopefully you can change how you manage it. You deserve to be happy and fulfilled by your work, not depleted.
BONUS #11: Check the pulse of your team.
If you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, chances are your team does too. If you are a part of the leadership team in your organization, consider leveraging frequent anonymous polls and surveys to see how your staff is feeling.
Find out how technology can automate some of the tasks on your plate with our infographic, The Extra Jobs You Have to Do.
