3 ways marketing leaders can overcome overwhelm

Whether you work in marketing, communications or public relations (or a combination of the three), it’s really easy to go down a path of overwhelm and career burnout if you’re not taking good care of yourself first.

I’ve been there — and I know have burned out from my career multiple times without realizing I was burned out in the moment. I’ve said “yes” to too many projects at once to show that I’m capable. I’ve also pressured myself to work late to demonstrate that I’m a committed team player.

Sound familiar?

But I learned in recent years this isn’t the way to a successful career or a joy-filled life. It’s a straight path to discontent, stress and overwhelm (that often creeps into your personal life and relationships).

I get it — marketing teams (and their leaders) have a lot on their plates and a lot of pressure to perform. We’re creating content that is put out into the world that has high expectations from leadership to produce real, meaningful results.

But this pressure can quickly burn out teams and their leaders quickly — which is probably why we hear stories and read headlines about people leaving their jobs or quitting PR and marketing altogether.

I have learned a lot about taking back control of my career and work environment in recent years that has led me to better balance (although I still haven’t cracked the code on pausing work thoughts after 5 p.m.). And a lot of what I learned started with better understanding myself and my values, breaking old habits that no longer serve me and practicing new habits like mindfulness and self-compassion.

While I could write a blog post about productivity and tips for better delegation, here are the three things I’ve done for myself to significantly reduce overwhelm in my career:

Set boundaries (and try your best to stick with them).

The hardest lesson I learned early on my career (thankfully) is people will treat you how you let them.

I say that statement with a lot of self-compassion because I didn’t really learn how to set boundaries until I reached the end of my 20s. I spent a lifetime of people pleasing and doing what I thought was being the best version myself by putting the needs of others before my own.

But then I realized that I am only sacrificing my happiness and not doing what Olivia wants.

With a combination of therapy and reading Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself, I discovered the life-changing gift of setting boundaries with others and myself. At work, setting boundaries means setting clear expectations that most days, I will only work eight hours (again, easier said than done). Outside of work, it could mean not bringing my phone to bed or getting to bed at a reasonable time.

Learning how to set boundaries is an essential first step to overcoming overwhelm at work because it’s the foundation of common work-life balance tips like “say no to meetings” or closing your laptop at 5 p.m. Setting boundaries is about putting your needs first so you can be the best version of yourself inside and outside of work.

Practice self-compassion.

Self-compassion goes hand-in-hand with setting boundaries.

Without self-compassion, it can be incredibly challenging to stick to boundaries because boundaries will be broken. We’re human and we can’t possibly be perfect at keeping our boundaries all of the time.

And in many cases, I’ve found in my career that it’s often me who’s breaking those boundaries (like when I let myself work late to finish a project instead of call it a wrap at 5 p.m.). I also break that boundary with myself when I choose to stay in a work meeting that’s running over at the end of the day and causes me to miss a workout class or be late for an important commitment (like the time I was late picking up my boyfriend when he returned home from a work trip).

So when those moments happen, I practice self-compassion. Instead of being hard on myself, I acknowledge that I am human and I will try again to stick to my boundaries next time. I also use self-compassion to speak kindly to myself and replace criticism with phrases like “you’re doing your best.”

Remember to pause.

Everyone is different when it comes to managing emotions at work, and for me, I practice the “pause.”

Let’s say a last minute request comes through or I find myself disagreeing with a teammate — I step back and pause. I check in first with how I’m feeling and, in many cases, it starts with feeling tightness in my chest. I then get curious about why I’m feeling this way, and allow myself to sit in the emotion for a couple minutes and feel whatever I’m feeling. Finally, I try to let it roll off my back like water on a duck. This process allows me to breathe and check in with myself before I dive into tackling the challenge at hand.

Pausing is hard and I don’t always remember to do it. But pausing is also powerful in conversations with others or before making a decision. Pausing allows us to step back, be in the moment and gather our thoughts before reacting right away. It also allows us to be a source of calm for ourselves and others.

It begins with ourselves.

Overcoming overwhelm starts with learning what we need and understanding what we value. It’s also how we express our needs at work and how we communicate with others. Setting boundaries, practicing self-compassion, and pausing helps us make decisions that are in the best interest of our team and become better leaders at work.

Above all, it reminds us that our careers are only part of who we are — not our entire identity. We can work hard and still put ourselves first.

Did this blog post resonate with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!