Map Your Invisible Load Before You Try to Fix It

“Map Your Invisible Load Before You Try to Fix It” - Estelle O'Callaghan

You can't manage what you can't see. It's a familiar line in strategy work, and it applies just as much to the load you carry in your own role. For mid-career women, including women returning to work after long leave, working on your load without mapping it first means spending energy on the wrong fix while the heaviest drains carry on untouched.

Last week's blog was about naming invisible load and its five types: tracking, deciding, absorbing, translating and switching. This week is about mapping where that load is landing in your own week, so you can choose where to act. If you tried last week's first step, start with the type you picked, then work through the rest.

WHY A MAP WORKS BETTER THAN A TO-DO LIST

A to-do list shows what you've agreed to do. A load map shows what you're carrying whether or not anyone agreed to it, and that's where hidden pressure tends to sit. Mapping it helps in three ways.

It shows you what's yours. Some of what you carry belongs to your role, and some has landed on you because you're reliable. A map helps you tell the difference, which matters when you come to decide what to keep.

It gives you language. "I'm stretched" is hard to act on. "I'm coordinating three hand-offs that nobody owns" is something you and your manager can discuss and change.

It helps you ask for the right support. A clear map shows whether a drain needs a conversation, a decision from someone else or a new habit of your own.

FIVE QUESTIONS TO MAP YOUR LOAD

Set aside fifteen minutes somewhere you won't be interrupted, and answer each question with specific examples from the past fortnight. Write down what comes to mind before you decide whether it counts.

"What am I repeatedly remembering for other people?" This is your tracking load. Look for the reminders, deadlines and follow-ups that live in your head so that others don't have to worry.

"What am I coordinating that isn't formally recognised?" This often shows up as translating. For example, you might be the person who connects two teams that don't otherwise talk, even though it isn't written into your role.

"Where am I absorbing tension or filling gaps?" This is your absorbing load. Think about the conversations you smooth over and the gaps you quietly cover when a hand-off is missed.

"Which decisions keep returning to me?" This is your deciding load. If the same kinds of questions land with you no matter who should own them, note each one and who should be deciding it.

"What do I keep doing because it feels easier to do it myself?" This one needs honesty. It's often the quickest route in the moment, and over months it can become a heavy drain. It's worth asking whether someone else could learn to do it, given a little time.

Some questions will produce long answers and others very little. That's information too, because a long answer is usually the answer that shows you where you’re taking the most strain.

FIND YOUR FIVE BIGGEST DRAINS

Your answers will probably overlap, and that's useful. Group them, then list the five drains consuming the most of your time, attention and energy. It can help to notice where the load is landing hardest: competing demands, mental load, emotional labour, decision fatigue or digital overload.

For example, one drain might be "chasing updates that should come to me automatically", and another might be "being the default person for every urgent question". Name each drain in plain words, the way you'd describe it to a colleague.

CHOOSE TWO DRAINS TO WORK ON THIS MONTH

You don't need to solve everything. Trying to shift all five at once spreads your attention across too many fronts, so choose the drains you can influence this month and highlight your top two points of leverage. You don't need full control of a drain before you start working on it.

Even slight influence is enough to begin.

Highlight your top two. Write the other three at the bottom of the page, so you know they haven't been forgotten, only set aside for now. Choosing is a step forward in itself, because it turns a vague sense of overload into a decision you've made on purpose.

KEEPING THE MAP USEFUL

Keep it to one page. One clear page is more powerful than a stack of notes, and you'll be far more likely to come back to it.

Map before you judge. If you notice yourself thinking "I should be able to handle this", write the drain down anyway. The map is there to show the load rather than to grade how you're coping.

Check it again in a month. Load moves as roles, projects and life responsibilities change. A quick look at the same questions next month will show whether your top two are still the right focus.

Next Monday's blog looks at how to reset the two drains you've chosen.

WHAT A LOAD MAP DOESN'T MEAN

A load map isn't a list of your shortcomings; it's an accurate picture of the work your role involves, including the parts nobody wrote down. Once you can see that picture clearly, you're in a much better position to change it.

WHERE TO TAKE THIS NEXT

If you've mapped your load and aren't sure how to start shifting your top two drains, join the Ghanvey Digital Library: a room as well as a library of resources, with a live session and an Implementation Lab each month, plus scripts, templates and challenges.

Membership is $49 a month with no lock-in contracts.

Join the Ghanvey Digital Library

Warm Regards

.