This is a guest post by Matthew Douglas
Overwhelm. Seems like the common state of the fellow engineer. But if you have a family at home, overwhelm doesn’t quite fit the description needed. If you are anything like me, the common day is filled with work, kids, and cleaning, which all add up to exhaustion if we are being honest. But alas, if we want to succeed, we have to find a way through the burnout.
Society operates on a level that is not very forgiving for those with other obligations that occupy their time. Just think about it: daily, you most likely have to juggle a mixture of work, school, kids, career development, finances, etc. The point is it takes a lot to be an adult and if you are newly graduated, welcome to the party. 😀
But you don’t have to live like this. This doesn’t have to be your portion. Although you may have a lot on your plate, there are ways you can change and habits you can implement to have more control over your life. Here are five tips you can incorporate into your daily routine to improve your efficiency:
Tip #1: Get Some Rest
Now you may be thinking, what does rest have to do with time management if you’re spending your time resting in the first place? Well, it is important to get as much rest as needed because the lack of sleep causes a domino effect on your body. Every major function of your body requires that your body rest to function properly. On top of that, your cognitive abilities are affected drastically. So working smarter and not harder is the way to go — you want to ensure you’re getting the proper systems in play that will allow you to get better rest and be more productive.
Tip #2: Plan Ahead
This is an important one. Planning gives you the chance to have some adaptability. Simply speaking, the further ahead you plan, the easier it will be to see upcoming problems.
One of the most crucial aspects of time management is prioritization. The simple solution to prioritizing is always to start by creating a list of all your tasks and projects and then rank them. However, I prefer to go further. Often, if you are feeling overwhelmed in your career, the anxiety can spill over into other facets. So why not treat your life as a portfolio of projects? It will take time, but if you can list out as much of your lifestyle in terms of projects, it is a lot simpler to break those down into tasks, and then allocate the tasks into windows of time in your day. It would be ideal to include all projects and identify the critical tasks that need immediate attention and those that can be addressed later.
Once you have prioritized your tasks, create a detailed plan outlining how you will tackle them. Set realistic deadlines for each task and allocate specific time slots for completing them. This will help you stay organized and focused on what needs to be done first.
Tip #3: Goal Setting
Before every new year, set time aside to focus on your goals. Clearly defined goals give you direction and purpose, helping you to stay motivated. There are plenty of techniques you can use, such as vision boards, having accountability partners, mind mapping, and journaling. But whichever method you choose, it is imperative to break those goals down into tasks for two reasons. One is for the visual effect since seeing your goals visually helps to keep them in mind. Secondly, it allows you a better opportunity to plan.
Tip #4: Make Systematic Improvements
As engineers, we operate day-to-day with systems. Systems can help you organize your tasks, responsibilities, and information in a structured and efficient manner, reducing the feeling of overwhelm. Systems can also help you prioritize tasks and activities, allowing you to focus on the most important and urgent matters first, reducing the feeling of being overwhelmed by a long to-do list. In my own experience, I have dealt with overwhelm and burnout because I didn’t have a system or routine. Everything I did was very impromptu, and my life reflected that as a result. However, by implementing systems, I reduced the burnout drastically. Again, building a system takes time and more importantly, personalization. While there are plenty of methods to use here, keep in mind the system will not work unless it can work for you. So develop a routine that works for your benefit, to your strengths, and makes way for your weaknesses.
Touching back to a point previously referenced, I like to think of everything in life as a project or process in some regard. There is either a beginning and end of the project or an ongoing routine to the process. Whichever of the two, I am taking the route of developing a digital system. I love to use the Asana platform as my source for this. Whenever I come up with an idea or a task to add to my to-do list, I open my Asana Dashboard and create the project or add the task. I know very well that my lifestyle, like many others, is a busy one, and with that, I decided that having a visual log of what I am thinking helps me to prioritize better. All that being said, be sure to take some time to develop a system that works best for you — one that helps you to be more productive — and it will change the narrative if you are a visual learner like me.
Tip #5: Give Yourself Grace
Newton’s first law states that an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by an outside object first. Likewise, an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Again, you may be thinking, “What does this have to do with becoming less overwhelmed?!” But I can assure you that this is a point of value. What I mean by this is that we have been trained to think, act, and do a certain way. Introducing new ways of thinking, acting, and doing is different and as a result, slight failures along the way are likely to occur. This is where grace comes in. Understand that any step forward is a step in the right direction. If you are taking the time to read this blog, you are already on step one, which is to identify the problem and sort out possible solutions.
This can have the ability to be a long road though, so just think about the Newton’s law example just discussed. Imagine a train slowing down from top speed to a stop, and then reversing direction. As an engineer, you’re probably thinking about how much energy is being transferred while doing this, and that’s the point — this represents what the work will be like to reverse engineer your current systems. It takes effort, it takes DISCIPLINE, but it can be done effectively. So give yourself some grace, allow mistakes to happen, learn from them, and reapply yourself to the mission at hand.
To conclude here, note that effective time management is essential for overwhelmed engineers to reduce burnout, but there are so many other factors to consider when analyzing your current time management processes. To navigate your demanding workload and maintain a healthy work-life balance, you have to identify and prioritize tasks, set clear goals, and plan. You also have to implement systems that work well for you and your lifestyle by using time-blocking techniques and delegating tasks effectively, if necessary. Doing so will allow you to create a more robust life, where you can take your livelihood back, stay focused and organized, optimize your productivity, and most importantly, reduce stress. Best of luck in your time management endeavors!
About the Author:
Matthew currently serves as the Special Projects and STEM Outreach Leader for the Engineering Management Institute. As a leader, Matthew’s goal is to ensure the efficacy and efficiency of the Learning and Development group. As a civil engineer by trade, Matthew has developed a passion for construction and stormwater management by way of maintenance and rehabilitation services. Matthew has also had experience working for private consulting firms and public agencies and has even held the role of an educator. As such, he loves to lead, build, mentor, and help those in need.
Most recently, while working for the public sector, Matthew took on the role of a public works operations manager. He led a few public infrastructure rehabilitation projects there and implemented new asset management technologies at a very young age. It is here that the passion for “fixing what’s broken” developed. He now uses his talents to lead EMI’s Learning and Development – Operational procedures, train engineers, and co-host podcasts.
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To your success,
Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP
Engineering Management Institute
Author of Engineer Your Own Success
