How to pace yourself at work and avoid burnout

It could be a fast pace, with lots of opportunities coming at once that overwhelm you. Or things could be coming to your business too slowly... drip, drip, drip. Better than flooding, perhaps, or maybe not? At least with the flood, there are ways you can pace yourself and slow things down a little.

What does it mean to pace yourself?

Pacing yourself is about managing your time, energy and expectations so that you can perform consistently over the long term, rather than trying to do everything at once.

Here are four ways to slow down when you need to:

1. Prioritise which opportunities to develop first or which tasks to manage today, then decide which can be dealt with later in the week.
2. Decide what is happening now and what could wait until later in the month, next quarter or even later. Does it really need to be done now?
   Know how long a piece of work is likely to take (then add some flexibility into your timings too!).
3. Be aware of your timescales, other people's expectations, the projects you're working on together and how much time and energy everyone can realistically devote.
4. As a manager or leader, this could also mean delegating projects or tasks, helping others develop their skills and experience. The support you offer needs pacing too. Don't overload everyone with new responsibilities all at once. Perhaps introduce one new responsibility each month, or one additional task within each project across the team.

You choose the pace

You choose your pace - vary it as and when you need to, meeting additional pressures with a slower pace for a short time, then increasing it again when other things settle down. Work with the pressure, then slow the pace when home-related responsibilities and commitments require more of your attention.

• Don't overcommit just to keep others happy at your own expense.
• You will have time to do some things later, if not now.
• Commit to important family needs and your children's hopes, for example.
• Focus on the essentials at home, at work and socially.

At work, you can reduce your input to longer-term projects while focusing on those due for completion in the next week or so.

Pace yourself as a team

You choose your pace and, as a leader, often influence the pace of your team.

Someone once told me a team is only as fast as its slowest member - at the time, me - and it's true. Yet sometimes that cannot be helped because of the things life throws at you.

Explain the situation to your manager, whose role is to manage the pace of the wider team whilst maintaining appropriate confidentiality if necessary. Tell your colleagues too if you're struggling for a period. You don't have to share the details; explain that you need to slow your pace for a while.

It may be that someone else can shoulder some of your workload for a time, and you can return the favour when they need support in the future.

Slow down to move forward

You really don't have to maintain a perfect regime every day. In fact, that's impossible to sustain.

Do yourself a favour and slow down, even by just a few degrees, when you need to.

This helps you build resilience through difficult periods. It allows you to manage your energy levels and gives your mind the capacity to think clearly rather than becoming overwhelmed by pressure.

Find new tools and techniques to manage your workload, your time and your energy. Ask for the support and understanding you need by explaining what is happening. Other people will experience similar periods too, and by doing this you are modelling healthy ways of coping and managing pressure.

Some people are made to go fast and never slow, but that isn't good for them, the people around them or the culture of a business or family. It can leave some people feeling inadequate, others feeling left behind, and some believing they are carrying everything on their shoulders.

Simply discuss it, agree who is best placed to do what, and agree the pace that works for everyone. It will be different for each of you, and there will be times when you naturally cover for one another.

A steady pace is far more productive in the long term and healthier for everyone. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare darts around the racecourse, convinced there's plenty of time, while the tortoise maintains a steady pace and calmly reaches the finish line.

Sometimes slow and steady really does win the race.