Latest / The Burnout Podcast with Fexingo: Workplace Exhaustion, Recovery, and Sustainable Careers / The Burnout of Workplace Overwhelm and How to Fix It
Transcript
- Lucas: So the other day I counted — I had 47 unread emails by 10 a.m., three back to back meetings, and a Slack DM that said 'Can you jump on a quick call?' and my brain just... stalled. Luna: That's not just being busy. That's overwhelm. Lucas: Exactly. And there's actually a difference between having a lot of work and being overwhelmed. Overwhelm is that specific feeling where your brain's processing capacity is maxed out. It's not about the number of tasks — it's about the cognitive load. Luna: Before we get into it — if this show helps you think through something in your career, and you've ever felt like buying us a coffee, we have a page for that. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Seriously, the smallest gesture means we stay ad-free and focused on the content. Lucas: Yeah, we love putting these episodes together, and that kind of support is what lets us keep doing it. So, back to overwhelm — a 2025 study from UC Irvine looked at workers who reported high overwhelm and found they had 34 percent higher cortisol levels than those who didn't. That's a measurable physiological cost. Luna: 34 percent is huge. And it's not just about stress — that kind of chronic cortisol elevation is linked to everything from sleep disruption to impaired decision-making. Lucas: Right. So the question is: what actually causes overwhelm, and what can we do about it? The study identified three main drivers: task switching, volume without structure, and the expectation of constant availability. Luna: Task switching — that's the one that gets me. Every time I switch from a spreadsheet to a Slack message to an email, my brain needs to reload context. It's like opening ten browser tabs at once. Lucas: Exactly. Researchers call that 'attention residue' — your brain is still holding onto the previous task when you've already moved to the next. And the more switches, the more residue. The study found that people who switched tasks more than 20 times per hour reported 50 percent higher overwhelm scores. Luna: Twenty switches per hour — that's roughly every three minutes. That's insane. Lucas: It's the modern default for a lot of knowledge workers. But there's something we can do about it. I've been using what I call the 'Overwhelm Audit' — it's a simple exercise where you track your top three sources of cognitive load for a week. Luna: Walk me through it. Lucas: You keep a small log — just a note on your phone — and every time you feel that 'brain stall' moment, you jot down what triggered it. After five days, you'll see patterns. For me, it was the Slack DMs, the constant inbox checking, and the ambiguous meeting invites. Luna: And once you know the patterns, you can actually do something targeted. Lucas: Exactly. One company I read about — a mid-sized tech firm with about 300 employees — ran an experiment. They implemented 'no-meeting Wednesdays.' No internal meetings at all. After six months, they reported a 20 percent increase in project completion rates and a 30 percent drop in self-reported overwhelm. Luna: That's a real, concrete result. And it's not about working more hours — it's about protecting the blocks of focused time. Lucas: Right. So the question for each of us is: what's your version of 'no-meeting Wednesdays'? It doesn't have to be a whole day. It could be two hours every morning where you turn off notifications and focus on one task. Luna: I think the key is making it structural, not just a willpower thing. If you rely on willpower to resist checking email, you'll lose that battle by 11 a.m. Lucas: Exactly. That's why companies that formalize these policies see better results. But even as an individual, you can create a 'focus block' on your calendar and treat it like a meeting with yourself. Close Slack, close email, put your phone in another room. Luna: There's also the question of volume without structure. I know I sometimes feel overwhelmed not because I have too many tasks, but because I don't know where to start. It's like standing in a messy room. Lucas: That's a really good point. The UC Irvine study found that people who felt their workload was 'unstructured' reported overwhelm levels 40 percent higher than those who had clear priorities — even if they had the same number of tasks. Luna: So structure is almost more important than volume. Lucas: Yes. One simple fix is the 'top three' rule. At the start of each day, write down the three most important things you need to accomplish. Not 10 things. Three. And commit to finishing those before you do anything else. Luna: That sounds manageable. But what about the constant availability expectation? The Slack messages, the emails — people expect an instant response. Lucas: That's the third driver. And it's cultural. Some companies have a 'response time' culture where if you don't reply within 15 minutes, people follow up. That creates a sense of urgency that keeps your brain in a low-level stress state all day. Luna: I've seen studies that show it takes about 23 minutes to refocus after a distraction. So if you're getting interrupted every 15 minutes, you never actually focus. Lucas: Exactly. And that constant switching is what drives the cortisol up. So one thing you can do is set a 'response window' — you check messages at specific times, say 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. And you let people know. Luna: Does that actually work in practice? I feel like some people would push back. Lucas: It depends on the culture. But if you frame it as 'I'm protecting my deep work time so I can deliver better results,' most reasonable managers will support it. And if they don't, that's a sign that the culture itself might be a burnout risk. Luna: That's a good point. So the Overwhelm Audit, the top three rule, and setting response windows — those are three concrete steps someone can take starting tomorrow. Lucas: Exactly. And I'd add one more: the 'two-minute rule' for small tasks. If something takes less than two minutes, do it immediately. That prevents the pile-up of tiny tasks that collectively create that sense of overwhelm. Luna: I like that. It's like clearing the clutter so you can see the actual priorities. Lucas: Right. And there's something else from the study that I found really interesting — they looked at the relationship between overwhelm and perfectionism. People with higher perfectionism scores were much more likely to experience overwhelm, even with moderate workloads. Luna: Because they're putting more pressure on each task. Lucas: Exactly. They're not just trying to get it done — they're trying to get it perfect. And that cognitive load is huge. So part of managing overwhelm is giving yourself permission to do 'good enough' work on lower-priority tasks. Luna: That's hard for a lot of people. But I think it's a skill you can practice. Lucas: Yeah. Start with one task a day where you deliberately aim for 'good enough' and see what happens. Chances are, no one notices the difference. Luna: Alright, so let's recap: do the Overwhelm Audit to identify your triggers, use the top three rule to create structure, set response windows to manage availability, and practice good enough on low-stakes tasks. Lucas: That's a solid toolkit. And I think the most important mindset shift is recognizing that overwhelm is not a personal failure — it's a signal that your work design needs adjusting. Luna: It's like a check engine light. You don't ignore it — you figure out what's wrong. Lucas: Exactly. And once you address the structural issues, the feeling of overwhelm usually drops significantly. So if you've been feeling that brain stall lately, try the audit for a week. See what you find. Luna: And if you find something useful, let us know. We'd love to hear what works for you. Lucas: Alright, that's it for today. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on The Burnout Podcast.