Professional Growth & Wellness: Managing Overwhelm & Competing Priorities (Recording)-Recording - 09.30.26

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Jamie Reed, Cheney School District’s Director of Finance and Operations, shares practical strategies for managing competing priorities and reducing workplace stress.<br /><br />She urges staff to distinguish genuine urgency from tasks that merely feel urgent. Assess each request by asking what would happen if it waited, whether you are the right or only person to handle it, and what other work would be displaced. Prioritize tasks by urgency, impact, and effort, while protecting time for planning and systems that prevent recurring crises.<br /><br />A useful daily practice is to identify three priorities: one that moves important work forward, one that unblocks someone else, and one that makes future work easier. Communicate realistic deadlines and, when new work arises, discuss what should be delayed rather than automatically saying yes.<br /><br />Reed also recommends pausing before accepting interruptions, scheduling focused work, and capturing every task in one list, one calendar, and one inbox. A regular reset helps close completed tasks, review upcoming deadlines, and choose the next day’s priorities. Finally, accept that not everything can be done perfectly or immediately—and be honest about your capacity.

Keywords

competing priorities

workplace stress

task prioritization

urgent vs important

time management

daily planning

focus and interruptions

capacity management

deadline communication