By James A. Baker · Founder, Baker Communications
2. Develop a realistic attitude about the workload you can handle. Extra-heavy workloads and the heart attack deadlines notwithstanding, you are still only human, and there are limits to what you can squeeze into your schedule in a given time period without degrading the quality of your work product and, in some cases, beginning to undermine your health. No matter what the demands of the job may be, or the level of responsibility you feel for the success of your team going forward, you have to be able to recognize when enough is enough for one day or one week, and avoid accepting more work in any given time period than you can really handle. You are not doing anyone any favors by making promises you can’t keep.
The key to effective time management in high stress times is to know what your limits are and take appropriate steps to honor those limits in a way that doesn’t create more problems for the rest of the team. Follow this strategy, and you should be able to survive with your sanity, your health, and your position intact:
