It's OK not to take on every assignment.
It happens to the most well-intentioned among us. You're
asked to do something at work outside of your normal duties and you
willingly agree. You do a good job and the following week you are asked
by the same person to do something else. This continues for a long time
and you eventually begin to feel overburdened and as if you're being taken advantage of.
You're probably asking how you got yourself in this
position and how to get out of it. The first step is recognition. If you
feel you've fallen into this role, you can take action to remove
yourself from it. No one wants to feel that they've lost control of
their work balance, and this can quickly happen when you are being
walked over.
Focus on you. If you've
landed in this position, it may be due to insecurity. Are you afraid to
disappoint others? That may be why you are taking on every new task
given to you. You need to learn to value your contributions
and time, which will allow you to do what you need to do to be
successful without compromising your priorities, utmost of which should
be caring for yourself.
Ask for help. When you
are constantly giving to others, you're probably not asking for much
help. That can be damaging to your well-being as well as from a time
perspective. Asking for help does not exhibit weakness; rather, it shows
that you acknowledge you don't know the answer to everything and it's
okay to ask for assistance. You're not supposed to know all the answers!
This also sends the signal to your colleagues that you are not afraid
to ask for help, and you will not be the one doing all the grunt work.
Learn to say no. This is a tough one, but it's an essential skill in the workplace. Those who set up boundaries
tend to have a more positive experience on the job. Contrary to what
you may think, saying "yes" to every request can give your co-workers a
negative impression. They may see that as an inability on your part to
prioritize overall and maintain a balance. It's much better to be honest
up front when you do not have time for something. If you wait until a
day or two before a deadline to tell someone you won't have time to
complete something instead of saying "no" at the outset, you will also
damage your reputation. If this is hard for you to do, start by offering
to do smaller tasks that take very little time, say five to ten
minutes, and go from there.
Evaluate your to-do list. Learn
to think critically about your to-do list. What is absolutely essential
and must be done today? What can wait until tomorrow? With constant
access to email, we automatically think that every message warrants a
response as soon as possible. However, continuously asking yourself the
question "Does this really need to be done right now?" may yield
surprising results and give you back a lot of your free time.
Cut back on your hours. If you're always working overtime
and feel that you need to be the first one in the office and last one
out, ditch that mentality. In most cases, you'll gain more respect for
completing your work within your workday (with some exceptions of
course), and if you don't, there's likely something wrong
with your boss, management or company culture. If there are obstacles
stopping you from getting your work done within normal work hours, think
about how to slash them. Is there a barrage of meetings each day or
people who are constantly coming to gossip with you and interrupt your
work? These are two things you can skip or cut out by making the
decision and sticking with it.
In order to avoid the office doormat label, you first
need to recognize your self-worth. Once you accept that your time is
valuable and you deserve respect, you can begin to take back your time
and energy and put it into your core work tasks and personal time in
order to do things that matter to you. Don't let people take advantage
of your kindness and willingness to give of your knowledge and time.
It's not worth the long-term risk to your health or your professional
reputation.