Managing that huge workload 

Prof Mike Ferguson, director of professional development at Developing Professionals International, and PCC associate, shares his guide to managing huge workloads 

My team has studied successful professionals for almost 30 years. As psychologists, we’re not only interested in how they tick but also what we can learn from these extraordinary people that the rest of us can press into service for ourselves.

Some people appear to be really good at chewing through huge workloads and, at the risk of a blush, I’m often told that I do this myself. My colleagues at PCC have asked me to share my top tips which guide my own thinking and approach to my job.

• Make it a passion: successful professionals love what they’re doing. If you don’t – find a great coach and work it out. Life’s too short to be grinding away at something which is ‘just work’.
• Manage your tasks: don’t take on anything new without deciding or agreeing on what you’re going to give up to make space for it. You just don’t have limitless time.
• Get creative: there’s generally a better way to do something which is faster, or more satisfying. Use technology better – for example, speech recognition. I dictate all emails – talking is much faster than keyboarding.
• Prioritise: too many of us are doing things which don’t add value to our organisations. Know what you must do, should do or could do, and prioritise accordingly.
• Train others and delegate: just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should always be doing it – and the same goes for things we ‘like’ doing!
• Divide up your time: stop thinking about process time – work out what outcomes you’re going to deliver, and by when. Break things down into small, manageable, chunks – most people can’t focus for more than 20-30 minutes.
• If you’re in the room, be in the room: avoid distractions which take your mind elsewhere – you need to be focused, and psychologically present.
• Value yourself: in a healthy environment you don’t have to keep proving yourself. Ask yourself ‘Why?’ if you continue to feel that’s necessary.
• Know your five: we eventually become the average of the five people we mostly hang out with – so choose wisely – or move!
• Be a lifelong learner: seek out others who do the same kind of work yet seem less stressed. Pay attention to their thinking and working practices – most people love to talk about themselves!

Remember, most of these are learnable skills or habits. Great coaching and training are available through PCC, along with a variety of online resources. Without action there can be no change – if you continue doing what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got!

Mike Ferguson delivers the Psychology of Success workshop for PCC. See our events calendar or www.pcc-cic.org.uk