3 Workload-balancing Methods for New Hires

It happens to new employees all the time. You lean back in your chair, thinking that all your assignments are complete, when suddenly you have the anxiety-inducing revelation that you’ve forgotten a major task. Soon you find yourself scrambling to get things done and worrying like it’s the end of the world as you watch the deadline for that big project draw near.

Stop. Take a deep breath and relax. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed when starting a new job and losing track of tasks is incredibly common for many people. Fortunately, there are many methods that will help you keep your workload organized and delivered on-time.

#1: Prioritize Your Work Accordingly

More often than not, the biggest stumbling block for new employees with deadlines comes from not knowing which tasks to tackle first. Since most new hires will have very little familiarity with how long certain assignments may take to complete, they usually end up going about their work in the order it arrives. 

If you feel that certain tasks may take too much time, try to schedule out your tasks to ensure more pressing assignments are handled first.

#2: Schedule Out Your Tasks

There are many different ways to plot out your workload, but most people make the mistake of not scheduling tasks accordingly. In addition to keeping your all your tasks organized, keeping an up-to-date calendar also ensures that proper attention is giving to important tasks so that they are completed on time. 

You can either use Microsoft Office or any of the numerous cloud-based browser calendars to plot out your assignments.

#3: Keep Detailed Records of Your Work

If you work for multiple clients or deal with numerous company departments, you may end up losing track of what needs to be accomplished during the workday. By keeping detailed notes handy, you can easily check to see what’s been completed and what still remains to be done. Consistent recordkeeping is also invaluable in a crisis should you ever make a mistake and miss a task.

By keeping a list of your total tasks in a Microsoft Word or Excel file, you can conveniently record and edit your work over time.