Invisible Workload

Ever feel like you are carrying the weight of having to think and plan everything in life and business? Even though you accomplished everything on the daily to-do list, your mind never stops adding more things to this list that you can’t seem to finish, not to mention, you carry the list of all those in your household and those who work for you. Did your kids turn in their trip slips, did your HR Manager run payroll on time, did your assistant confirm all of your appointments this week?? This list can go on and on. This is referred to as the invisible workload because even if you're not the one doing everything, you are the one thinking about all the things, trying hard to track them and making all the decisions.

Even if we have help - an assistant, a spouse, partner, staff, etc. - we are still the ones having to delegate tasks to folks. Sometimes more than once. (anyone else with teenagers in the house?)

How much of what you 'do' each day falls into the invisible workload category? Things that aren't obvious and can't necessarily be checked off a to-do list, but that can take up a surprising amount of time & energy.

Things like:

• Thinking about what needs to be done - when, how and by whom

• Delegating what needs to be done - we may not be doing the work but having to assign the task takes time and thought

• Following up, checking in, getting a status

• Making decisions - whether large or small, making decisions, there is energy required to think through things to make a decision (and decision fatigue is a real thing)

To some degree, the invisible workload comes with the job of mom, head of household, CEO, COO, etc. and is just part of the gig - there will always be thinking & decisions that need to be made.

As your business grows you simply won't have the capacity - or the desire to keep all of this invisible workload on your plate. And it can start to show over time through fatigue, exhaustion, frustration or lack of motivation and/or progress as tasks sit waiting for your input & decisions.

As a manager, when you find the invisible workload is becoming too much to handle, one suggestion to lessen the burden on yourself is to hire an Online Business Manager (OBM). An OBM’s expertise is taking your vision and goals and turning them into actionable plans, getting the right folks in place and ensuring that the work is getting done correctly and on time.

Where and how do you feel like the invisible workload is showing up in your business?

What would be possible if you had someone to take more of the invisible workload off your plate?

If your workload, invisible or otherwise, is feeling like too much, let’s connect and chat about the ways I can help ease the invisible workload.