I write about productivity so that, by exploring this topic, I can hopefully help myself and others be happier and healthier at work.
For me, improved productivity is not about achieving more in less time. It’s about doing less by focusing on the things that matter and feeling accomplished without sacrificing our wellbeing.
I wasn’t always like this. It’s certainly not the way I approached work in my 30s. Back then, my focus was on gaining experience and chasing promotions. I took on as much as I could to learn and get ahead. Wellbeing was not really a priority.
My crazy 30s
Like most ambitious working mothers (with deadlines and dreams), I would leave the office at 5 pm to pick up my son from childcare and then fire up the laptop again once he was in bed, often putting in an extra 3 hours (sometimes more) at night. I also often worked from home on Sunday nights, which sometimes felt like the weeks were blending and that there was barely any break at all.
My work wasn’t seasonal so most of the year was like this…or maybe it’s just that the tough months stood out and tinted my perception of the rest of the year. Horn effect.
Either way, I took ‘flexibility’ too far. And this was my mistake.
When you have this mindset where you are used to or even rely on those night or weekend shifts, you either take on too much or don’t push yourself hard enough to finish things during the workday. You don’t get enough rest and time away from work stresses, so you are constantly tired and this impacts your day-time productivity even further. The result is that you are often getting colds and headaches…and then you’re catching up after being on sick leave. Not fun.
A better way
Nowadays, I am much more mindful of the number of hours I am putting in and the time of day and week I am doing those hours. I try to avoid work in the evenings and especially on weekends. Instead, if I need to catch up, I start working earlier in the morning when my energy levels are high.
It’s still a work in progress because I really enjoy my work and still have big dreams, but I’ve learned to better pace myself so that I don’t burn out…again.
How we can be more intentional about overtime
Most jobs involve a bit of overtime. When you have a lot of responsibilities, it’s not easy to get everything done in a standard 8-hour day, every day. On top of your ‘regular work’, you are also spending a lot of time in meetings, putting out fires and communicating with staff. In fact, most managers are not paid overtime - it’s expected and (supposedly) ‘built into’ their contracts.
I don’t think that overtime is bad or unnecessary, especially if you are driven and trying to excel at work. I think we just need to be more intentional about it to make sure the extra hours are productive and justified, to strike a better balance between feeling successful and feeling healthy. Otherwise, the crazy hours (however you define them) will start to lose meaning and we will start to resent our work.
Here are a few things you could do to be more intentional about the number of hours you spend working.
Don’t rely on overtime as a way of continuously keeping your head above water.
If you have an 8-hour day job, use this as your benchmark and try to get the bulk of your work done in this time. This way, if you notice that you are doing lots of overtime, this will be a sign that you need to revisit your commitments, work habits or the support available. Or maybe even your career choices if the overtime is significantly affecting your wellbeing.
Make overtime more of a choice.
Sticking mainly to an 8-hour workday doesn’t mean that you always have to race to get everything done within normal working hours and increase the pressure for yourself even more. Just try to be more intentional about when you will allow work to take over personal time.
Some people prefer to take a few hours on the weekend to catch up or plan out the next week. It relaxes them knowing they can use the work week to work with their team and focus on urgent things, then clear their inbox or review something that requires concentration on the weekend. (Just be careful about spending your weekends on low-priority tasks that can be delegated or may not need to get done in the first place.)
For others, even thinking about working on the weekend stresses them out because they really need those two days to switch off from work completely. If that’s you, you can put in an extra 30 to 60 minutes each workday instead of a few hours on a Sunday. And you won’t resent the extra time as much because you’ll know you’ll be back on Monday refreshed and still reasonably on top of things.
In any case, understand the costs and benefits of working nights and weekends and choose when the overtime makes sense for you and when it will be counterproductive. Taking control over your schedule to align with your energy levels and family needs will help you feel like less of a victim - you’ll know that you’re putting in the extra effort when it supports your career and your sanity.
Get your important work into your diary first.
Once you’re clear about what matters in your role and you’ve mapped out when it will get done, you’ll be less likely to allow trivial tasks to take over and cause overtime.
You’ll also have a visual representation of what time remains for additional work, which will give you the confidence to manage your stakeholders’ expectations and prevent becoming overcommitted.
Be mindful about how you structure your days.
Consider, for example, doing your creative or difficult work in the morning when you are fresh, leaving the easy catch ups and admin work for the afternoon. This way, the important work will be done first and you won’t need to stay back to finish it. The less important stuff planned for the afternoon can be easily moved to another day – no need to stay after hours just to clear non-urgent email or file random paperwork.
I know the above sounds like a no-brainer, but then why do we accept a meeting invite for a low priority 9 am catch up (to discuss someone else’s problem) when we know we should be writing or reviewing a complex report at that time instead? To prevent yourself from accepting these, you could block out the first two hours of the day Monday through Thursday for key tasks, keeping Friday mornings open and more relaxed as you would’ve cleared your big-ticket items by then.
Manage distractions.
Don’t take your work home to work when you’re tired because you spent the workday chatting, allowing others to constantly interrupt you or responding to various notifications on your computer. It’s fine to use some of your work week to bond with colleagues and action relaxing admin tasks, but not to the point that it’s creating significant overtime.
Figure out what your key tasks are for the week, plug them in to your diary, protect that time and focus to make sure they get done. First work, then play.
I know it’s not easy to tell your colleagues to come by later with their questions (especially for us people pleasers). Consider organising a regular catch up with your key contacts at the end of the day or on Fridays when things are more relaxed.
Check out my post on how to focus to get urgent work done for more tips.
Be more realistic about turnaround times and deadlines.
Be careful about regularly turning things around overnight or over the weekend for your stakeholders. Otherwise, people will deliver things to you at 5 pm or on a Friday afternoon and expect it all to be actioned by the time they’re back in the office. Set some healthy boundaries by letting people know how much advance notice you need to get the work done at an acceptable pace.
Another common problem is that we underestimate how long things will take and commit to unrealistic deadlines. If you’ve made a bad estimate, talk to your stakeholder to see if there is any wiggle room before you put in that all-nighter to get the work done.
And for my fellow overachievers, please ask yourself whether something really needs to get done today or whether you are just obsessed with staying ahead. (I know, right?)
Ask for help.
Another thing that took me years to improve on.
Don’t think that you have to do everything on your own. Before you kill yourself trying to finish something, ask your colleagues to help you out and you can return the favour when they’re overwhelmed.
If you’re a manager, ask yourself whether you are delegating effectively. Are you constantly swamped because you can’t let go of the work and trust others to do it? Or are you spending your days micromanaging staff and then catching up at night? Focus on developing your staff so that they can help you share the burden.
Any thoughts?
Do you find yourself doing a lot of overtime? Does this situation have a time limit and a clear purpose…or do you feel like you’re constantly swimming in a sea of work? What strategies have you applied to try and get it under control? Contact me and share your thoughts.
Thanks for your time.