166: Overwhelm or Overload?

Do you have a clear idea of how much you can achieve in a week? It’s very easy to be overly optimistic about what it is possible to get done. And then when you don’t achieve your goals for the week, it’s easy to slip into a habit of working extra hours to tick all those things off your to do list.This kind of overload is inevitable occasionally, but if you are consistently over-estimating what’s possible it can lead to building feelings of overwhelm and then potentially burnout.Key Lessons from this episode:1) Overwhelm and overload can feel the same, but they are caused by different things and so the solutions are different.2) Being overly optimistic about how much can be accomplished in a given timeframe can lead to overload.3) Tracking time to understand how long tasks actually take can provide clarity on workload and prevent overload.4) Avoiding the pressure to constantly work harder and instead focusing on sustainable productivity is essential.Episode linksEpisode 165: ‘My Solution to Overwhelm’ Cal Newport podcast episode: ‘Decoding Overload’ Cal Newport podcast episode: ‘Start with Discipline' Discover what it's like to have Juliet as your coach: www.consultjuliet.co.uk/executive-coachingContact Juliet: [email protected] up at www.consultjuliet.co.uk/signup to receive an email each Thursday morning about the week’s new podcast episode.Thank you so much for listening to The Independent School Podcast. I would be grateful if you could spare a couple of minutes to send me some feedback here. This helps me make the podcast as helpful as possible to listeners. Thank you!