It’s Sunday night. You’re looking at your calendar for the week ahead, and your stomach drops.
Wall-to-wall meetings. Three project deadlines. Your kid’s school play. The “networking event” you somehow got roped into planning.
You’re exhausted before the week even starts.
Here’s what’s happening and what you can do about it.
The situation:
“Overwork” - the feeling that you have too much to do in too little time - is the current state of affairs. Companies are asking more of employees while providing fewer resources (Overload).
This affects everyone, not just women. Here’s what IS gendered:
- Women do 200 additional hours of non-promotable tasks at work (The No Club)
- Women do 500 additional hours of unpaid labor at home (IMF)
- Our culture still holds women responsible for a happy home life (Having It All)
The solution:
Systemic change needs to happen. And you deserve practical tools you can use NOW.
Here’s a framework I call “Nefficiency” (necessary + efficiency - see what I did there?! 😊):
Ask yourself “Is it necessary?”
“If you ditched your entire to-do list today, you’d later find out that only 1 out of every 10 things actually mattered.” - Michelle Kelly, CEO
In my coaching work I’ve found the problem isn’t identifying unimportant work. It’s the fear of backlash if we say no.
Tool 1 - How to say no without backlash:
Use the “Yes! No. Yes?” framework (from William Ury):
Yes! The thing we both agree on
No. ONE reason you won’t take on that task
Yes? An alternative to get the work done
Example: You were asked to lead the quarterly all-hands presentation - again - even though it’s not part of your role:
“I think it’s important we have a strong quarterly update - it really helps keep everyone aligned. (YES!)
Unfortunately, I can’t lead it this quarter because I’m heads-down on the product launch. (NO.)
However, I’d be happy to share the deck template I created last time with whoever is taking point. (YES?)”
Fun fact: If you give more than one reason when saying no, people think you’re over-explaining and flip from positive to negative feelings. One reason. That’s it.
Tool 2 - Keep a “No” list:
What are you NOT doing? Write it down. This gives you permission to say no when asked.
Examples: No more than one committee at a time. No Sunday commitments after 3pm. No more than one coffee chat per week.
Your list will be different - that’s the point!
Ask yourself: Can I do it more efficiently?
Real talk: we do ~700 additional hours of labor annually. That’s 4 months of extra work. Standard productivity advice doesn’t cut it. Here’s what I’ve found actually works:
Tool 3 - Batch your tasks:
Research proves it: doing similar tasks together saves time vs. task switching.
Batch email, errands, admin work - even text messages.
Tool 4 - Block your calendar for YOUR priorities:
Protect time for your hardest thinking. If you’re a morning person, block mornings for strategic work and shift meetings to afternoons when possible.
You won’t succeed 100% of the time, but even 20% makes a difference.
Tool 5 - Level up your support:
Look at where your time goes. Eliminate what you can (see your “No” list). Then see what you can delegate at work or at home.
Give yourself permission to get help.
Want to go deeper? I recommend:
You don’t have to keep running on empty.
Pick ONE thing this week: Create your “No” list, batch one type of task, or block time for one priority.
Remember, 1% better every day is 37x better in a year! 🎉
Cheering for you,
