Work Stressors Quiz

How’s your work stress lately?

No really … let’s take a minute to find out. Here is a quick quiz to gauge whether you’re on an unsustainable path.

For each of the following statements, give yourself a point when it is true more often than not. Keep count as you go.

1. You spend your workday reacting to whatever seems most urgent, without having time to reflect and prioritize for what matters for impact.

2. You tell yourself things will be better when … [the project finishes, we hire a new staff member, etc.], but as soon as that comes to pass, there is another horizon to get to.

3. You work on nights/weekends to catch up or get ahead.

4. You don’t fully enjoy your nights/weekends because you are tired, moody, or your mind is on work.

5. There is so much on your plate that you have a nagging fear that something might slip through the cracks at any time.

6. You aren’t performing up to your own standards (even if your work product is objectively good).

7. You routinely find yourself having to “save the day”.

8. You long for time to do deep thinking or meaningful collaboration.

9. You notice you are increasingly reactive instead of proactive. (Which makes you cringe a bit with embarrassment since that just isn’t like you.)

10. You feel like there is something missing … there must be more to purpose-driven work than this slog.

11. Your professional development and meaningful networking keep getting pushed off.

12. You’re starting to feel truly depleted (or you know you’re in high-functioning burnout).

13. You’re providing only minimum managerial support to your team, nowhere near what you’d like to give them.

14. You’re unable to spend time on vision, strategy, and other high-level, high-impact activities because you are in so many meetings or putting out fires.

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How did you score? The max is 12 if you are an individual contributor and 14 if you have staff. The higher your score the worse things are for you right now.

… you’ve got to prioritize making some sort of change – be it in your own work processes or approach, setting and maintaining healthy boundaries, redefining your job, or looking for a new opportunity.

Brainstorm a list of steps you could take. Choose three of them to act on this week.

… sounds like you’ve got things well in hand. Enjoy your awesome work and keep it up!

… things aren’t bad but they aren’t great either. What steps could you take to move the needle on just one or two of the statements you scored a point on?

Katherine ✨

Thanks for reading MOTIVATED AF, the place for high achievers who want both success and meaning in their career, and don’t want to be told to slow down.