In any job, as time goes on, it can feel like you are being pulled from every direction. You are doing the best you can and seems like it is still not enough. Its easy to feel like you are falling behind and will never catch up. And if you do catch up, there will be no keeping up, let alone make time available to truly excel.

It is easy to get overwhelmed with things big and small, lose perspective on whats important and let the proverbial straw break your back. After the 20th email, the tenth phone call, the 4th IM and the sixth decision you are asked to make today, it can feel like meltdown-time. At that point, you are not exactly poised to do your best work

Some of the best performers I know have thoughts like this under these circumstances:

Am I pulling my weight?

Is this going to impact my performance rating?

Am I going to get fired?

Am I putting myself at risk of getting laid off?

Is my boss going to hold this against me?

Know what success looks like for your position, and then deliver.

Its tempting to get caught up in others, sometime unrealistic, expectations of us. Often we get caught up before we know it. And then we end up running ourselves into the ground, or into the hospital, trying to meet all those expectations.

Its times like this when its imperative to simplify. Remind yourself of the baseline for what is expected of your position. Take some time to take a breath and check out whose expectations you are trying to meet and look at them objectively. Only then, with a clearer mind, can you make realistic choices about how you are going to choose to enhance your performance in a way that works for you and your employer.

Whats your job? Boil it down.

When I get particularly overwhelmed with both stated and assumed expectations, I always try to go back to asking myself, What is the bottom line that I need to deliver?

Recently I agreed to teach my first course to college students. I had lots of experiencing designing and conducting training and facilitation in corporations and thought I had what it took to make this a great experience for everyone, right off the bat. I had all of these grand ideas about what it could be, what I wanted it to be, for me and them both only to get brought back to reality very quickly. I had to remind myself:

My job as an instructor is to deliver on the course objectives on the syllabus. I make students aware of the ground-rules and expectations of the class. I use a variety of ways to familiarize students with the required material so they can have a realistic opportunity to make a passing grade. I test the students on the material required, and return objective, helpful grades and feedback. I deliver thoughtful assessments and final grades at the end of the semester, on time.

Now, these objectives can be met in effective ways, that are either good-enough, or energy-draining. If I have the time and energy to design something more fun or elegant, great. And Im not suggesting that quality be sacrificed. Putting whats expected of you in these simple terms helps you be objective 1) when you're stressing and 2) when someone seems to be expecting more.

So, can you describe the core of your job in 100 words or less? Include those adjectives that are important to you and the job, but keep it concise. Think about it as if this were the annual objective that would be considered a no-brainer for your job, and youll be on your way to a clearer brain in no time.

Copyright 2004-2006, Mary C. Schaefer, all rights reserved.

Mary Schaefer

Mary has always been interested in how the human element plays out in what, and how, things get done in the workplace. Mary’s belief is that organizations are composed of unique human beings requiring individual attention in order to make the most of what they can contribute to an organization, and at the same time meet their own specific needs for meaningful work. She formed her company, Artemis Path, to help managers and employees see how they can get more from themselves and each other by working WITH what makes us human beings – an unexpected resourcefulness and energy that can only come from a respectful and collaborative work environment.

Having started as a computer systems analyst, over time she noticed that she was more interested in how people reacted to changing job expectations and a changing work environment, how people reacted to learning new skills, and how to overcome the obstacles to that.

As she started pursuing a career in Human Resources and a Master’s in HR, Mary was chosen for several work assignments that allowed her to try out her vision for how people can be more positively engaged in the workplace. She took an active role in leading hundreds of survivors of corporate downsizing to see how they could make positive choices moving forward, rather than be overwhelmed by constant job insecurity.

While leading a manufacturing project team made up of several shop-floor employees, Mary worked with every person on her team on their skill-development needs. In just a few years, several were promoted and were able to significantly expand their career possibilities. Mary was recognized for this and more with a division-level award for being a “champion of human potential”.

Mary eventually put her vision on the line once again, when she became an HR manager, receiving 2 promotions in her last 3 years in the corporate world. Not only did Mary fulfill basic HR tasks in serving her 550 constituents, she also initiated positive change in areas like ethics, and respectful behavior. In the area of performance management Mary developed an approach that helped give supervisors the confidence to deal with performance issues quickly, and actually make the discussions encouraging and positive.

After completing advanced coaching skills training, she struck out on her own to help organizations and their members to make use of training and interventions which help the organization make the best of their own “human” resources.