Joe Iliff
Reformed City Planner
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- 1,441
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Ok, I need some suggestions on dealing with burnout, because my attempts to avoid it have been insufficient. I don't think I failed at avoiding it, just that it was unavoidable under the circumstances.
Here are the contributing factors:
1) We're short-staffed. And I know we're not the only ones and the everyone it the department feels it, but it's particularly taking a strain on me since I'm basically filling in for two open positions in addition to my own heavy workload. And some of those responsibilities come with no training. I know this is a temporary situation (I hope), but it's going on two months now, and with a slow learning curve once we're back to full staff, it's hard to see the end of it.
2) Frenetic pace. We've got a busy schedule of deadlines, which normally I'm able to handle, but with this expanded set of responsibilities and more "customers" than before, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to meet everyone's needs. Even with prioritizing just the "hottest" projects to the top of the list, my "hottest" list is almost more than I can handle.
3) Minor stuff. So much stuff on my list is unimportant, or maybe it just seems that way compared to other things. I mean it must be important to somebody, but compared to other things on my "to do" list, it doesn't seem that way to me. Part of me wants to just dump all that stuff, but part of me feels bad for feeling that way because, as I said, it's important to somebody, so I should treat it with respect.
4) Personal stuff. It's not all work. My personal life is putting a strain on my time and emotions as well.
So, now that I've vented, I'm looking for ideas to help me cope. Got any??
Thanks.
Here are the contributing factors:
1) We're short-staffed. And I know we're not the only ones and the everyone it the department feels it, but it's particularly taking a strain on me since I'm basically filling in for two open positions in addition to my own heavy workload. And some of those responsibilities come with no training. I know this is a temporary situation (I hope), but it's going on two months now, and with a slow learning curve once we're back to full staff, it's hard to see the end of it.
2) Frenetic pace. We've got a busy schedule of deadlines, which normally I'm able to handle, but with this expanded set of responsibilities and more "customers" than before, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to meet everyone's needs. Even with prioritizing just the "hottest" projects to the top of the list, my "hottest" list is almost more than I can handle.
3) Minor stuff. So much stuff on my list is unimportant, or maybe it just seems that way compared to other things. I mean it must be important to somebody, but compared to other things on my "to do" list, it doesn't seem that way to me. Part of me wants to just dump all that stuff, but part of me feels bad for feeling that way because, as I said, it's important to somebody, so I should treat it with respect.
4) Personal stuff. It's not all work. My personal life is putting a strain on my time and emotions as well.
So, now that I've vented, I'm looking for ideas to help me cope. Got any??
Thanks.