Have you ever tried to water your garden with a kinked hose?
Pressure builds and the water either stops or takes forever to drain.
That might be what your workload feels like right now.
You have things coming in at a faster rate than they go out.
- More emails.
- More projects.
- More meetings.
- More quick asks.
- More opportunities you genuinely want.
And yet nothing is fully leaving your plate.
Where’s all this work actually going?
Who’s handling it once it lands on your plate?
Or does it just sit in a mental pile called “I’ll get to that”?
Do you have a system that moves things forward? Or are YOU the system?
Because if every request depends on you thinking about it again… and again… and again…
It doesn’t matter how capable, focused, and/or hardworking you are.
When more is entering your world than exiting it, you’ll be behind.
There are only two levers you can pull.
Step #1: Stop Increasing What’s Coming In
You can’t keep accepting work at a faster rate than you can process it and expect not to be behind.
At some point, you have to reduce what’s coming in. Like,
- Unsubscribe from newsletters you don’t read.
- Turn off CCs that don’t require you.
- Cap the number of clients you take at one time.
- Limit how many meetings can land on your calendar each week.
- Create intake rules so that every request doesn’t automatically become your responsibility.
We rarely question inflow because it feels productive to say yes.
It feels generous and ambitious.
But every yes has weight.
If the faucet is blasting and you feel the pressure rising, adjust the handle.
Reduce what’s coming in to you, even a little bit, and you’ll immediately feel relief.
#2: Increase What’s Going Out
Sometimes the inflow makes sense.
You’re growing. The business is expanding. The role is bigger.
That’s so exciting.
But then, growth demands greater outflow.
Which means, you have to get more OFF your plate.
There has to be a balance between what’s coming in and what’s going out.
You could:
- Delegate earlier instead of later.
- Automate repeatable tasks.
- Build templates for decisions you make repeatedly.
- Create clear criteria, so you aren’t rethinking the same things daily.
- Hire before you feel completely maxed.
Outflow isn’t about working faster.
It’s about designing ways for work to leave your plate permanently.
The Bottom Line
You can survive with a kinked hose for a while.
The pressure feels productive.
You might even convince yourself this is what high performance looks like.
But over time, the strain shows up.
Burnout.
Resentment.
Rushed decisions.
Dropped details.
I’m not suggesting you do less or lower your potential.
But I am saying that it’s important to align the rate of incoming with the rate of outgoing.
When what’s coming in and what’s going out are in balance, you actually catch up.
You finish what you start.
You trust your calendar.
You close your laptop without that lingering “what did I forget?”
If you don’t take charge of it, you’ll be drowning in more work, getting farther behind every week.
Which is definitely no bueno.
So this week, ask yourself one honest question:
“Is my pressure coming from too much inflow, or too little outflow?”
Then adjust one lever.
Decrease what’s coming in
Increase what’s going out
Because you don’t work this hard to always feel behind.
I want more for you, and I know you’re capable of it.
xo,
Mridu
PS: Tired of putting in the hours and feeling behind? Let’s connect.
1) Learn about team training here.
2) Explore one-to-one coaching here.
PPS: Friends don’t let friends feel less stressed alone. Share this with a colleague or bestie!
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