To begin with, take a look at yourself from the outside.

1. Assess Your Current Workload

Before taking on new tasks at work to avoid ending up in an even bigger "fire," evaluate the time you spend on current assignments. It's important to exclude subjective assessments: you may feel overwhelmed, but in reality, there may not be that many tasks.

How to Assess Your Capabilities to Avoid Drowning in Tasks

To get an objective picture, follow these four steps:

  • Use a time tracker. For example, Toggl Track, WEEEK, or Hours TimeLord. The program will calculate how much time you spend on specific tasks. This will help determine the amount of work you can handle in a day and avoid overcommitting.
  • Consider micro-tasks. Sorting emails, replying to colleagues in messengers, scheduling meetings, preparing invoices for clients—often such tasks are not included in the overall workload, which is a mistake. Individually, they may seem insignificant, but together they can take up several hours a day. Estimate at least approximately the time you spend on these tasks and add it to your workload.
  • Count short breaks. It's practically impossible to work intensely for all eight hours. Taking a brief break to brew tea, scroll through social media, or laugh at memes is perfectly normal. During this time, you'll rest a bit, making it easier to continue working. Therefore, it's worth including small pauses in your schedule.
  • Allocate time for unexpected tasks. Unplanned tasks may arise during the workday. For instance, a client may come with revisions that need to be addressed urgently. Therefore, leave free time slots that can be filled with work without harming other tasks.

2. Identify Your Weaknesses and Strengths

This will help you understand why emergencies occur. First, answer the question of whether it really happens because there are too many tasks that are unmanageable for one person, and then analyze your role in the emergence of these backlogs.

Once you identify your weaknesses, you can influence them—some more significantly than others. For example, dealing with anxiety or lack of focus may be more challenging, while requesting more reasonable deadlines may be easier.

Next, identify your strengths—those qualities that will help solve problems. For instance, a love for your work that drives you to perform tasks to the best of your ability. Focus on your values and do not agree to conditions that could potentially degrade the quality of your work.

3. Analyze Your Work Environment

Our capabilities depend not only on ourselves. They are also determined by the work environment. For example, you may be a highly skilled specialist, but if your team constantly faces emergencies, crises, and "fires" in projects, it can be difficult to deeply engage in tasks and execute them methodically.

4. Tackle Unpleasant Tasks

Unpleasant tasks can hinder productivity and limit opportunities. We often engage in such tasks reluctantly, procrastinate on them, and accumulate them until an emergency occurs. As a result, we have little energy and time left for other tasks—and we start to drown in backlogs.

To come to terms with unpleasant tasks, consider two questions:

  • How easily can you endure the discomfort they cause?
  • Do unpleasant tasks provide any benefit?

If you can handle unpleasant feelings, and the outcome compensates for all the effort, try to accept the fact that not everything important in life brings us joy.

If there are many disliked tasks and you decide to quit, the recommendation regarding weaknesses and strengths also applies. For example, weak points may include fear of change or reluctance to communicate your desires to management. Then, think about why you fear changing the usual course of things and what causes your anxiety, and find ways to eliminate those reasons. However, if you adapt quickly and easily immerse yourself in processes, those are your strengths. They will help you cope with the transition and then integrate into a new team.