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What
This Section Gives You
This section introduces you to some of
the skills that are needed to manage a heavy
workload.
Workload issues lie behind much of the
stress we experience. Not only can a heavy
workload be tiring in its own right, it
often drives us to work much longer hours
than we would really like. This means that
we spend time working that we'd prefer to
use for the things that give life value.
It also means that we're working when we
should really be resting.
Worse than this, a heavy routine workload
leaves us little time to deal with the emergencies
that come up from time-to-time. This adds
to the feeling of being "out of control"
that is so much part of stress.
Successful workload management is therefore
vitally important for your job satisfaction.
The first tool we look at, Job
Analysis, helps you to look at your
job and to understand which tasks are essential,
and which are distractions. This gives you
the information you need to prioritize effectively.
The next set of tools we look at are Time
Management skills. First, we look at
time management as a subject to introduce
the overall frame of mind needed to use
time efficiently. Then, we look at specific
time management techniques – use of
a time
valuation tool, Activity
Logs, and To
Do Lists. These help you to cut away
inefficient, unproductive tasks, and concentrate
on the high value jobs that will deliver
the greatest returns. This helps you to
increase your productivity.
This is followed by a brief introduction
to task
and project planning. The skills here
allow you to make a credible assessment
of the amount of time that will be needed
to complete complex tasks, and help you
to manage these along with your other ongoing
work.
This is important because it helps you
to “push back” against unrealistic
workload expectations, and manage what people
expect from you. This helps you to develop
a reputation for reliable delivery while
also shielding you from what can be nightmarish
deadline stress.
Finally, we look at basic delegation
skills. You need to understand these
if you are to be able to cope with a workload
greater than that possible for one person
to manage.
All of these skills work together to help
you perform well, while at the same time
keeping your workload within reasonable
bounds.
The next
article helps you understand your job,
so that you know what's important, and what
isn't...
- To download
this section of Stress.MindTools.Com in
PDF format to use and print at your convenience,
click here
- Read the next article in this series,
and find out how to use Job
Analysis to identify the real priorities
in your job
- Find out how to identify timewasting
activities with Activity
Logs
- Start using prioritized To
Do Lists as a simple technique for
increasing your effectiveness
- Learn how to get the help you need with
effective delegation
- Find outmore about surviving
in problem jobs in our next section
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