How to avoid taking on too much at work

The best way to break out of the vicious cycle of overcommitment and underperformance is to very carefully manage what you agree to do. Here are some steps you can take to prevent overloading your plate. 1. Create a pause

Whenever possible, avoid agreeing to new commitments on the spot. Instead, slow down the decision-making process to give yourself the space to make a reasoned choice. 2. Say no early and often

If you immediately know that you don’t have the capacity to take on a project, say no as soon as possible. A simple, “This sounds amazing, but, unfortunately, I’m already at capacity right now,” can suffice.

3. Think through the project

Consider what you’d need to do in order to complete it. For a presentation, that might include talking to key stakeholders, doing research, putting together the slide deck and rehearsing. For a much larger project, the commitment may be more extensive and less clear. Map out what you know, and then make rough estimates of the amount of time you think the steps might take.

4. Review your calendar

In the case of the presentation, if you see that your calendar has open time, then you can commit with confidence and block out time for the project on your schedule. If your calendar has no time free between now and the day of the event, and the presentation would require preparation, you have a few options. The first is to simply decline. The second option would be to consider renegotiating your current commitments so that you could take on the new project.

5. Adjust your commitments

If you take on something new that will affect other projects, make people aware of what they can or can’t expect from you. Also, if you let people know what to expect as soon as possible, they’re less likely to be upset. This gives you the opportunity to work with them on creating a new timeline or on delegating work to someone else with more availability.

In association with Harvard Business Review