Hello friends! As more employers reduce their workforce and expect the survivors to do more with less, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. In this post, I share my strategies to manage feeling overwhelmed at work.
Trust me, I get it. From May – September 2025, I provided interim support to my org’s Vice President while continuing to support my Director. I have nearly daily panic attacks with the volume of work. I can’t take a day off spur of the moment. I’ve had to push through the anxiety and get shit done.
In this context, feeling overwhelmed is related to high work volume plus the expectation that the EAs deliver perfect work product 100% of the time. The stress amps up whenever one of us is out of the office for three or more weeks, due to medical leaves, unexpected illnesses, and taking the PTO we’ve earned. At this moment, we each support 2 Directors so when we need to cover for one of the team members, two of us have 3 Directors each.
Here are my go-to strategies to manage job-related anxiety and overwhelm.
Walk away from my computer
I sometimes get frazzled, and my mind fixates on some stupid, minor detail or mistake that won’t let go. When I recognize it, I lock my computer and walk away. The kitchen on my floor is centrally located and my desk is in a far corner. I will get a glass of water or make a cup of tea. On a tough day, I take the long way around and walk the perimeter of the floor. When I return to my desk, my brain has settled down.
Make a list
I take out my notebook and a pen and start making a list of everything I need to do: meetings to reschedule with dates and names, event planning tasks, project work, and reminders that occur in the moment.
Tasks are then stack-ranked by importance. If you’re unsure of how to rank tasks, I recommend using an Eisenhower Matrix, aka the Priority Matrix. Subscribers can find my post on this topic here.
Get a second opinion
Sometimes, I’ll come up with solutions and then wonder if my head is stuck too far up my own ass to see clearly. That’s when I reach out to my Lead EA, my mentor, or one of my team EAs and run my ideas past them.
There you have it, my top 3 tips for managing overwhelm at work. Sometimes you have to focus on the basics.
I hope these simple ideas help you the next time you feel overwhelmed at work.
What are your strategies for calming down at work? Drop a comment and share your tips. Sharing is caring!
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