Summer, end of the year, beginning of the year, the occasions to look behind us and think about how we’ve been doing so far keep coming up again, and again.
Still, what doesn’t change for most people is this feeling that they keep working too much, that they never stop being too busy and, well, that too much work just makes them waste our time.
Sounds familiar? Nothing surprising.
The good news is that in this article, we explore the issue. We explain why you are working too much (hint – there are typically two bad excuses and one real reason). And we give you coach-style (and client-proof) tips to start doing a lot better by being proactive, not reactive.
Ready to make things change for the best? Keep reading!
Working too much: the evil of the century?
As business coaches, performance coaches, and life coaches, we see a lot of people (entrepreneurs but not just entrepreneurs) who complain about their workload and the negative impacts that workload has on their personal, family, spiritual, and of course business life.
In fact, reducing that workload to free some time to go play golf, sail, or spend more time with the kids is one of the key reasons why people come to us looking for coaching tips and life-changing solutions.
They are tired, but more importantly, they realize that now is the time to start acting.
This is not surprising, because for some reason, working too much has become the evil of the century. Or at least one of them.
If you think about it, we are all conditioned to perform all the time.
We have to perform at school, otherwise we’ll end up like Uncle Jack who’s done nothing with his life because he didn’t listen and wouldn’t work hard enough.
We then have to perform to get to university, because competition is fierce and they only take the best. But then, once you’re in, you still have to compete, because only the best graduates will get a job in the best companies out there.
And of course, that’s just another beginning, because once you have that job you need to work even harder to either climb the ladder or keep your job from someone better (let alone cheaper) than you.
So, I’m not the only one thinking I’m working too many hours, right?
Sadly, no.
You are like most people, actually.
Working too many hours, because, since the beginning, you have been educated to perform. You have been trained to do stuff, more stuff, and even more stuff. You have been told that hard is important. And you have been trained to always be more productive, and more reactive.
The problem though is that the meaning we typically give to “performance” and to being “productive” is at the root of the problem.
When we ask people to describe to us how productive they would want to become, the answer is usually the same: I want to be more reactive when things happen so I can achieve more.
Okay…
But are performance and productivity a matter of quantity and ‘more’? Of course not!
What are performance and productivity about?
From our perspective (we are business performance coaches and life coaches, remember?), performance management is not a matter of doing more, it’s a matter of achieving specific results aligned with specific goals.
Some goals can be business-related. For instance, being present on three continents within 24 months, or launching that awesome new product by Christmas.
Other goals can be a lot more personal, say, for instance, climbing mountains in Nepal before you’re 43. Oh, and of course training for it beforehand.
Either way, performance and productivity are not about producing more quantity, and they are not about merely reacting to whatever is happening around you either.
No way!
They are about being proactive and extremely selective. They are about getting some very specific things done, to achieve other very specific things you have carefully identified and given priority over the rest.
Said differently? Ticking twenty-seven boxes on your to-do list by Friday will probably make you the most reactive person around. But! It won’t make your week productive, and it won’t make you a performer either.
Think about it. What have you achieved with those twenty-seven boxes really?
Now, think differently.
How would you describe getting one strategic blog article published every week to push your message out there? If there is a sense of proactivity and purpose, that’s rather productive, isn’t it?
Let’s try something different with, let’s say, the signature of that deal you’ve been working on for three months, and that’s going to double your exposure? If it gets your business to its next step, how about calling it performance?
In a different style, how about spending two hours a week working ON the strategic aspects of your business instead of just focusing on the emergencies? Again, we’re talking about proactive thinking oriented towards performance here!
And, well, please excuse the repetition here but just so you don’t miss the pattern, doing one hour of endurance training every day is another form of proactive performance because it will get you closer to your health and wellness targets.
Those examples will make your week a performing one, in the end, because the things you achieve there are not just focused, they are full of intentionality. Nothing comparable with ticking your twenty-seven to-do list boxes, right?
What are performance and productivity about?
- Performance and productivity are not about quantity
- Performance is about reaching targets you set for yourself
- Productivity is about delivering, based on your performance target
Look, it’s very easy.
The issue with the traditional type of training is that people want to do as many things as possible and so they burn out sooner or later. However, having a strategic approach to personal performance is a life-changer.
When it comes to productivity at work, high performers don’t work more, they work smarter.
When it comes to working efficiently (that is fewer hours rather than too many hours), high performers don’t react, they plan and act proactively.
When it comes to managing their time, high performers don’t spend twenty hours a day working. They focus on targeted performance, and they make time for training, reading, and taking care of themselves (let alone others).
In the end, most people are working too many hours and not enjoying time, and that’s on them because, eventually, you only get what you tolerate. Period.
How to work less and still get the same amount of work done?
- Realize that productivity isn’t about quantity
- Realize that performance is all about priorities and targets, not fuss
- Revise your priorities: what really matters?
- Be proactive and act smart, forget reactivity
By the way, what does burnout look like?
Now, before we get to the easy steps you can leverage to make a difference in your life, there is one question you need to answer: how are YOU doing these days? Should you take a break from work at all?
To help you answer that question, we’ve compiled a list of questions you should be able to answer pretty quickly.
Here we go, see for yourself.
Do you feel like you’ve been working too much lately? Do you feel tired? Maybe upset, or somehow increasingly aggressive? Sounds like you’re on the right track to burning out.
Do you feel like the amount of work, time and energy you are putting into doing what you do doesn’t produce the results you want? Are you somehow thinking that’s too much and you’re done? Burning out there as well!
So how do you feel? Does it look like you should be looking at the way you work differently?
At the end of the day, there are various levels of burnout.
Some are severe and will take you out of the grid for some time. Others are lighter and can be managed before it’s too late – provided of course that you are aware of where you stand, and that you have decided to act.
To that extent, burnouts can be a difficult emotional and physical status, but they can also be a warning signal you can perceive and act upon.
Again, we have what we tolerate, and you are not immune from that.
What are some signs that I should take a break from work?
- You can’t stand people anymore, your work environment is getting on your nerves badly
- The amount of time and energy you put into things only produces frustrating results
- You are not sure about why you do things anymore. Maybe dreaming about change, even?
I’m too busy, but it’s not like I have a choice, right?
Sadly, most people believe that they have no choice there – which puts them in an unproductive ‘victim’ state of mind. They feel like they can’t react, so they get stuck. But hey, here is the thing. Of course, you have a choice!
As we said before, we get what we tolerate, and just complaining about your current situation is not going to make any positive difference.
If you think that you are too busy, working too much, working too many hours and not enjoying the life you think you deserve, then why not work on making some change happen?
There are many elements you can’t control – the weather forecast or time passing too fast are two of them). But there are tons of things you can try to influence, and if YOU don’t work on them, nobody will.
You could decide to accept the reality as it is, for starters, and you could decide to take things into your own hands, then act.
You could decide to change jobs and fire your boss. You could even decide to build your own business and do things for yourself instead of putting your hours into their pockets.
Already have your own business and working too many hours for the results you get? You could refocus, set priorities (including personal ones) and stick to them until your life goes in the direction you have in mind.
You could get yourself a life coach and use their guidance to declutter your mind, get things in order for good, and transform your life so it fits your plans.
You could get a business performance coach and start working on where you want your business to get you a few years from now. After all, your business should be working for you, not the other way around, right?
Two bad excuses, one real reason why you’re working too much
Before you make any decision though, we tend to say that there are typically two bad excuses and one real reason to explain why you are working too much and burning yourself out.
Reason number one – I don’t have enough time to do everything!
True, you don’t have time to do everything. But that’s a bad reason.
The issue is not how many hours you have in a day, it is the number of things you intend to get done in the number of hours you have available.
You can’t control the clock, but you can control how many things you want to achieve in a day, and you can organize your time to make the most of it!
Look at your diary and inspect how many hours you have spent last week doing things like emails, emails, and emails.
You could also track how many times you played on your phones, looked at your Facebook account (33 min per day on average according to Statista) and exchanged jokes with friends on instant messaging apps.
What do you think?
Now do the same exercise and see how you have used your time over the past six months. Have you achieved anything significant over that time? That’s how you assess performance and productivity! For real!
Reason number two – I don’t have enough staff to do everything!
We work with entrepreneurs and executives a lot, and we often hear that the reason why they are too busy is that they don’t have enough staff to do things. That can be true, again, but that’s still a bad excuse.
One, if you have followed what we just said, you should have realized by now that your staff should be dealing with performance the same way you do. And that’s by setting goals and working on specific priorities. If they do too much, then maybe something is wrong?
Two, well, maybe it’s also time to give your staff a push? Maybe it’s time to responsibilize them instead of micro-managing them?
Maybe it’s a question of allowing them to take some risk and make some decisions, because failure is learning and should be acceptable, at least to a certain extent. And maybe the best way to manage all that is to set up processes and standards your staff can use to get things done in a way that’s optimized?
Either way, putting the blame on the staff isn’t the solution. But, you could take responsibility and get some change going!
Reason number three – I’m too busy because I’m not organized!
That one is the real deal. It flows from everything we’ve said before, but those who are working too much usually get too busy because they are not organized the way they should.
We gave some hints and tips already – think big picture and goal setting!
One, think about what you want to achieve and define personal goals you want to achieve for real. Make them tangible and meaningful. In case you wonder how to do that, we wrote an article on how to set SMART and SMARTER goals here.
Two, define a list of priorities and stick with it! Not the usual to-do list, a real priority list on which you will only put things that will make you feel like you are performing and productive!
If you are a business owner, remember that entrepreneurship is all about solving problems and creating value – it’s not a matter of working more!
Three? Ditch the rest!
You see the idea here. Bad excuses are the easy ones to find, but they are also easy to spot and to deal with. The real deal is less obvious and takes a proactive, organized approach. But it’s so much more efficient!
4 reasons why you are typically working too much
- Too much work not enough time (bad excuse)
- Too much work not enough staff (bad excuse again)
- Too much work not enough organization (the real deal)
- Not being proactive enough (oh yeah)
Working too much? Four steps to regain control
Before we wrap things up, here is a little exercise – if you believe that you are working too much then there are four steps you can try and go through, right now, to regain control over your time, energy and time.
Step 1: What makes you say that you are working too much? Assessment time!
Step one – go through a little self-assessment and figure out what makes you say that you are currently working too much?
Are you working too much… compared to the money you make?
Are you working too much… for people who don’t realize how hard you are working to help them?
Are you working too much… for the results you obtain?
Are you working too much… compared to the time you have for yourself?
At the end of the day, working too much includes a relative element because the work, energy or time you put into things has to be assessed relative to something you find more important. So, what is more important to you than just doing hours?
Step 2: Identify what feeling(s) this causes
Once you have figured out what you would rather be doing or achieving, you could try and identify how you feel about all this.
Some feel tired, not to say exhausted if they are in burnout mode.
Others will feel upset at other people for not seeing the value they create, or at themselves for working too many hours without reason.
Some will simply feel lost and wonder what to do next.
Either way, those feelings belong to the realm of personal perception, and as such, they are necessarily real and should be considered seriously.
If you are upset, realize it and wonder why you are upset, then think about what to do about it. If you are sad, or disappointed, or lost, do the same. Accept the existence of that feeling, use it as a driver for change, and act on it.
Step 3: Understand that urgent doesn’t mean important
Now, being sad and upset is useful because these feelings will give you the kick in the butt you need to start acting differently. That’s good!
Before you do that, however, you want to think about one very important concept: urgent and important are two very different things.
We wrote an article on the Urgent and the Important here when we talked about using the Eisenhower Matrix to manage time and priorities, so there is not point in going into the details here.
Still, while answering emails might seem urgent, these emails are often more important for the other guy than for you, hence the whole challenge is to figure out what needs to be done now, and what could be done later (if important at all).
Have a look at the article and give it some thought. When was the last time you really focused on something important to you, rather than on something urgent for someone else?
Step 4: Draw your ideal alternative! Coach yourself!
Fourth – define your ideal alternative! Build on the previous three points and make up a big picture you want to live with!
Go back to our insights on setting goals for yourself, and do it! Again, you will find some more insights on goal setting here.
A coach can help with this, but you could also start with coaching yourself to make a difference.
4 easy steps to regain control over your time
- Assess why you work too much
- Define how that makes you feel
- Prioritize the important over the urgent
- Define your dream alternative – Coach yourself!
Takeaway: To stop working too much, be proactive not reactive
To wrap up – the key takeaway in this article is this one: to stop working too much, be proactive not reactive.
Most people focus on being as reactive as can be. They adapt and they do things as fast as possible because dealing with the urgent is important. But is it?
What if being proactive by focusing on whatever is actually important made a real difference, in your personal life, but also from a business perspective?
Food for thought!
5 reasons why you are working too much
- Working too much is the evil of the century.
- You get what you tolerate: figure out why!
- Too much work means YOU need to act.
- Stop being reactive, be proactive instead!
- “I’m too busy” isn’t an excuse – coach yourself!
