Summer is just a few days away! It seems like there is very little difference in climate from late spring to early summer. The changes of season transition so slowly we hardly notice the difference. Work can be like this as well. One minute we seem to have balance in our workload and then slowly over time we find that we are bogged down with too many projects and burn out is just around the corner. So, how do you tell your boss that your plate is too full without being seen as incompetent? Read below for a few tips to help you communicate this difficult message.

Great balancing,

Diane

 P.S. Please share your thoughts about this email or send future topic ideas to diane@dianeamundson.com

How To Tell Your Boss Your Plate Is Too Full

Many of us have experienced the feeling of burn out in our work. Especially during the last few years, as co-workers have been laid off and we have assumed more of their work. So, what are the possible signs of burn out?

 •Missing work days

 •Getting your work day started later and later

 •Physical problems like headaches, backaches, lethargy, trouble sleeping

 •Apathy or lack of interest in work

 •Hopelessness

So what are the dangers to ourselves and others when we allow the burn out to continue?

 •Physical ailments

 •Sloppy work

 •Customers leave

 •Employees leave

We can choose to live out these dangers or we can choose a conversation with our boss to let him or her know that we have too much on our plate. Many of you are thinking that this may be a CLM, or as the military likes to call it, a career limiting move. While getting fired may be an outcome, I believe that you may end up leaving anyway, if you do nothing and the burn out persists. Or, the company may terminate you because of sloppy work.

Why not be proactive and take back your work life? A few options that present themselves during this tough situation would be:

 •Suck it up and just deal with itas you have weathered these burn out storms in the past.(Remember how you made the last job cut and did not get laid off? The best strategy is to keep a low profile and your nose to the grindstone.)

 •Create your own prioritization of tasks from most important to least important with ideas for giving the least important work to other teammates or complete at a later date. (By creating your own list with ideas, you show the ability to think like your boss and have him or her make changes to your ideas versus having them create their own.)

 •Change jobs. This may be a solution, but as many of have experienced when changing jobs, the burn out follows you to a different company…you really haven’t solved anything.

 Whenever I had a staff member approach me with the need to help them prioritize their work, I was not angry, but rather thankful that the employee was “on top of their game” and seeking help with ideas on how to solve the issue. Remember when approaching your boss with a work plate that is overflowing, to emphasize that you are looking out for the organization as a whole and the clients.

 By seeking help with reprioritizing your work you will better serve your internal and external customers and there are few bosses that can argue with that…..

Question for You: Do you have too much on your work plate right now that may cause you to crash and burn in the near future if something doesn’t change?

Action for You:

Review your workload and prioritize your tasks from most important to least important. Brainstorm alternatives to those low priority tasks and present those to your boss. Ask if they see your prioritization the same way and get the help you need…..now before your quality of work slips.

 ”Ideas and not battles mark the forward progress of mankind.”

 L. Ron Hubbard