How to rescue a person from “drowning at work” – A Mentor’s Guide

Times have changed. We only need to look at Social Media to understand how it has become all consuming. Do we even know how to take a break these days? How much chocolate, energy drinks etc., do we need to keep going?

The fact is life has become hectic to say the least, and the bottom line is, we are all overloaded in one way or another.

So, how can you help others to manage their workload and at the same time find strategies that will lighten the load for yourself?

As a person’s mentor, you have the ability to guide them through the process, that will allow them to take control over their own lives. It is not about telling them what to do, but rather assisting them through a process of questioning that is relevant to their situation.

This will clearly help them to define the problem areas and find the solutions for themselves. Once the person understands what they need to do, then it is all about implementing those strategies. You, as their mentor, can hold them accountable to follow through.

Here are some questions you can ask that will assist you through the process:

1. Are there tasks that you are doing right now that you could stop doing? This question is to clarify for the person the differences between what is mission-critical and what seems important, but really isn’t. Helping a person to prioritize tasks or to re-evaluate if some of these can be eliminated, will prevent them from becoming stressed and overwhelmed.

2. Are you doing stuff that has become redundant?

Sometimes we may be working on a project that seemed important at the time, but has now become obsolete. Alerting a person to this, may help them to comprehend the importance of having interim deadlines and scheduling progress meetings. This will also help them to stay up to date with their work.

3. Are you an organized person?

This question helps you to understand if their behaviour is the issue or if they just need help with planning. It seems that to stay on top of things, we need to become extremely well organized. I have found that the more I schedule in my diary and plan ahead, the less stressed I become. Don’t get me wrong, I much prefer to be spontaneous, but when time is poor, you really need to program everything into your diary, including things in your personal life.

4. Are there other people that can do some of the work for you?

This question will determine if the person can let go, by passing on work to others and being good at delegation. It may also establish how great they could be as a leader. If you take this a step further and explore what the person absolutely loves doing, what they don’t mind doing, what they are good at and what they hate doing; you will then be able to explore options for delegating, especially the things they hate. We sometimes think we need to do everything ourselves, but having the right resources, supports and training in place, can really help. Speaking to the right people, asking for help or networking, can provide the person with the relevant resources.

5. Are you doing repetitive tasks?

This is a great question. You see, most people are repeating tasks over again and again. The way round this is to put a system in place. You can help the person to formulate systems for the tasks that are repetitive. This could be anything from developing standard documents to creating blueprints or even producing videos. You can help the person to discover alternative strategies to create systems that will free up their time, and allow them to do the really important things.

6. Could you improve your time management?

It seems we can all waste time. The average person in the U.S spends 20 – 60 minutes a day on Facebook alone and 28% of the workweek reading or responding to emails. This is estimated at 6.3 hours a day. Now that is a lot of time that is being wasted. You may be able to give the person some tips and strategies as to how and when to tackle some of these tasks and improve their time management. By helping them to find solutions themselves, they will have a much better chance of implementing them.

7. When are you most productive and what does this look like?

We all work differently. Some of us are more focused in the morning, whilst others are better in the evening. Some people can concentrate better in a quiet office, whilst others work better in noise, like an open-plan office. There is evidence to show that people get more done when they remain focused on one task at a time, rather than multi-tasking. This question will help the person to recognize what works best for them. They can then speak with their boss about options with regards to flexibility etc.

8. Are there other things you can do to relax and alleviate your stress?

This is an important question that will help them to explore a range of options that will not only be helpful to their work-life, but also for their personal wellbeing. Exercise for one, has been shown to not only alleviate stress, but it increases focus and productivity. Another good technique is meditation, taking regular short breaks etc. Working on a 30, 60 or 90-day action plan or the 5 must do items to complete in a day, can provide more focus and achieve better outcomes.

As the person’s mentor, you can help them to figure out some great strategies that will prevent them from ‘drowning at work’.

Mentors Insync makes it easy for Mentors and Mentees to connect with one another. It is flexible and will save you time. Visit mentorsinsync.com to find out more.