HELP! What do you do when you have too many duties at work and your desk and EVERYTHING is a mess AND your?

Question

employer will NOT take any of your duties off of your 'plate'?

How can i manage?
My hair is falling out and my arms are broken out! I got diagnosed with an ulcer too. There's got to be a better way to resolve this. HOw do I get organized? I am trying to do it all, but doing a poor job in everything!

Answer 1

If you have the dough, get an assistant, if not take alittle time off. get your self situated mentally and go back to work strong.

Answer 2

Learn to delegate, multi-task, and to say "No" when offered a choice. Sometimes you feel obligated to do it all, especially if your trying to impress the boss (or the bosses boss). Don't be the victim of a guilt trip either, because there is surely someone else in the office that has the time to complete the task.

The first thing you need to do is get your work space in order, even if it means coming in on a weekend - which is the best time because you will not have others there to demand your time. Organize your files and create bins that you can use to help manage your time: for example, a "get it done today" bin, a"tomorrow" bin, and a "by the end of the week" bin. Have a storage area to seperate your different projects that are your responsiblility and put everything in its place so it is easily found when you need it. Put reminders of due dates in your calendar, your computer, even at home. If you see the date, your less likely to wait to the last minute to finish your assignment. Sometimes you will need to take things home to work on, just until you've caught up. DON"T make this a habit. We do not live, eat, and breathe work. I have made this mistake in the past and now I do not have a problem saying "no". Also take time during the day for yourself. Get away from your desk to take lunch. Take a walk. Give yourself a breather. Plan something for yourself at the end of the week or a completed project as your reward - get a manicure, have a facial, see a movie. Do something that is relaxing to you where you don't have to think about what is next on your plate. This will help your attitude and your ailments.

Don't get frustrated. Just have patience. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Answer 3

Only 24 hours in a day (8 in a workday) - face up, prioritize, some things will fall by the wayside but that is necessary.
Do a good job for your 8 hours, and if the boss wants something else done then let him assign the priorities.
When he asks why something wasn't done, say
"Sorry, there are only 40 hrs in a week and these other projects took precedence HOWEVER, if you prefer to alter the priorities, you may of course choose the task lineup". Then undone tasks will be his choice . . .
unless, you want to live with an ulcer and hair falling out and . . .
Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize and just because it is on your plate, does not mean you have to do it . . . if you have notified him the tasks time exceed your workday (do it in an informal memo but keep a written copy)

Answer 4

I think you should first start by organizing your desk. If you can't use your work hours to do it, stay late this evening or through lunch. When your workspace is cluttered, it makes everything seem crazy. Think how nice it would be to have a clean, useable workspace. Make folders. Make them for everything you'll need to find in a hurry. Mark them clearly. I do this at my home office and don't know what I'd do w/out them. You cold also keep a notebook. Each day, mark the date at the top of the new page. Use it to take notes. You'll have everything you need right there and easily accessible.
You may also want to go to your boss and ask which projects are the most important at the moment. Explain to him/her that there are a lot of things going on right now and you just want to make sure you two are on the same page about your priorities. You don't have to seem disoriented, just "touch bases".
And you'll know exactly what to work on until it's finished.
Good luck!!

Answer 5

If the employer is not ready to take your responsibilities offf your plate, then take your employer out of your plate. That should be the last resort, when the employer is not fit to distribute work properly.

First go and talk to your manager and say that you cannot take the load anymore and if not reduced might want to quit.

And in the meantime, start looking for a better job which is much stressless.

Answer 6

Organization is only part of the battle... Priority is the biggest issue. Make a list of all your duties....put them in order of priority, then work through your list. As much as possible (and I know a lot of times it is impossible)....complete one task before you start another. I found that prioritizing all my work...and then making one big stack on my desk....then just start at the top and work your way down.

If you really find that you are unable to efficiently complete your work..... your stress level is so high that your hair is falling out...may be time to consider looking for new employment. No job is worth losing your health over!!

Answer 7

Welcome to my world.

Ok, first things first, BREATHE. Odds are when you start looking at your desk and thinking about all you have to do, you hold your breath. Then the lack of oxygen raises panic receptors and you start freaking out. Stop and breathe, deep breaths in and out.

Now, clear a spot in the middle of your desk and take out a clean sheet of lined paper. Write down every single job duty/thing to do that you can think of. All of them. Keep this paper handy because as the days go on you will think of new things to add to this list.

Now look at your list, go through and put an D next to everything you need to do daily. Then go back over your list and put a W next to everything that you need to do weekly. One more time, go through and put an M next to those things you only have to do once a month or so.

Now take out 3 sheets of paper and label them Daily, Weekly, Monthly. List each item from 1st list on its appropriate paper.

Ok, now you can begin to see where you should spend most of your time. Do your daily activities first thing (if you can) and log how much time you spend on each. If you can do the same thing for your Weekly & Monthly duties.

I will bet if you do this and then present it to your boss, showing him in black & white what your requirements are, he will help to figure out a way to get some things off your plate.

If not, choose to loosely organize your desk into 3 main piles (you may choose to have sub-files too) again follow the Daily/Weekly/Monthly format.

I have found that if I keep my activities organized by priority and time to do it, I tend to forget to do less, and feel more in control.

Whether I am or not.

Good luck!

Answer 8

It depends on many thing. Your age, your financial situation, and also what you aim to do with your life, ie what are your short term plans and what are your long term plans?

We do not work for the sake of it. We work to have better lives, so if work is making our lives miserable then it's not worth it, so we must change it. But at the same time life ain't perfect. So sometimes we do thing we don't like but we have no choice. You should just think about your desires and your possibilites and find the right balance. It's not easy, but with confidence you can make the right decisions so that you may be much better off.

Answer 9

Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and take a moment to breath. Now, To get orginized, you need to know what tasks you have at hand, compile a check list of all your tasks. Clean your desk and orginize the mess according to task. One pile per task, Then one task at a time (start with some of the simple quick ones to get momentum, then tasks of importance/deadlines) finish or complete the task. Do not try to do all the tasks at the same time....it will simply be overwhelming, one task at a time. Slowly work on removing things from your list....one item at a time. Try to maintain orginization once you get things under controll. Work a few late nights if possible, and if possible, do not take your work home. Have a seperation between home and work, it will help to reduce the stress and worry.

Answer 10

I've been thru all that ... the previous responses were pretty good ... i will offer you some more ... your being taken advantage of ... you have to get some power back ... start looking in to starting your own business ... thats what i had to do ... if thats a bad idea , round up some alternative job offers , even if you are determined to not switch jobs ... having back-up plans relieve stress , even if you never follow through on them