A colleague has been asked to assume the duties of another person during a vacancy in that position. She is happy to do so, but when I asked her what she was not going to do in her own job she did not have an answer.
It is important when you are assigned extra responsibilities — whether temporarily covering for a person, handling an extra project, or addressing additional volume — that you stop for a moment to consider the big picture. What gives? You may eliminate some tasks altogether, you may put some things on the back burner, or you may do projects with less thoroughness than before, but something is going to be done differently.
It’s helpful to assign those priorities with intention. Perhaps your current job duties are more important than the new ones you have acquired, and they should take precedence. Or maybe your current job should be put on hold and all your focus shifted to the new tasks. I remember when I was VP for Enrollment and our admissions director left. I asked my boss how much of my time should be spent in the interim director role and he said 90%! If you don’t have an incoming class, it has major implications for the whole institution, so I moved my office and delegated or delayed my other duties for a year.
What you shouldn’t do is think you can handle everything. Working a few extra hours is one thing but doing so every day isn’t a sustainable strategy. When things get piled on, it’s worth a moment of assessment and reflection before you dig in.
