Sometimes you just have to set aside your ego and ask for help!

This week let’s talk about asking for help. I know that even when I am super busy, it seems easier to just do everything myself. That way I know it will get done to my standards. It also seems like such a hassle to teach someone to do something when I can do it faster on my own and I don’t like to impose on anyone. Can you relate? But there comes a time when you have so much on your plate that doing it all yourself just no longer makes sense. In those cases, you either have to let something go (which is not usually an option), realize that something is going to be late (definitely not preferable), or ask for help.

I realize that asking for help can be vulnerable. You actually have to admit to yourself and to someone else that you are not wonder woman (or insert your favorite superhero here). But when your plate is stacked so high that you can’t see any break in sight, it is time to call in the support team. Look at your list of things to do and decide what has to be done by you and what can be done by someone else. To make this easier, have a trusted friend, family member, or coworker on standby. Talk to them ahead of time, when you are not in the middle of complete overwhelm mode, and ask them if they are willing to help you out when things get crazy. This way you won’t feel quite so bad about asking them to help out at a moment’s notice.

And if I may be a little bit corny here, if you look at your to do list and it really is filled with things that absolutely cannot be handed off to someone else, go to that trusted friend or family member (this is probably not appropriate for your coworker!) and ask for a hug. There is something really great about knowing that even though you are swamped, there is someone who cares about you no matter how much you get done. For me this works every time!