Roughly 50 percent of the collaboration overload problem is in the form of the beliefs we hold. These are the deeply held — and often unexamined — desires, needs, feelings, expectations, and fears centered on how we assume we need to show up for others each day. These feelings motivate or trigger a tendency to jump into collaborations or help others when doing so is often not in our best interests or most beneficial to our organization.

Collaboration overload

If you jump in too quickly or too often, you can become a target for ever-expanding requests that prevent you from meeting your bigger goals. Develop an awareness of why people beat a path to your door. Is it because you represent the route of least resistance? If so, learn to be comfortable saying no.&nbsp;It helps others become self-reliant. Shift your perspective from deriving satisfaction from helping to teaching people how to solve their problems.

The desire to help others

Small wins feel good, and they reinforce who we are and provide a shot of dopamine. But the desire to help and the satisfaction from accomplishment set up expectations in ourselves and others that can get out of control.Practice avoiding activities that give you the rush of accomplishment for accomplishment’s sake by extracting yourself or giving partial direction while building others’ capabilities. If you must engage in a small task, remind yourself that good enough really is good enough.

The sense of fulfillment from accomplishment

Don’t look for status in the expertise and knowledge that defined you yesterday.&nbsp;Let go of those old, familiar ways of interacting so you can create the space to develop in new ways as a leader who enables the team to take ownership and engage independently.

The desire to be influential/recognized for expertise

We say yes early and often, so everyone knows how competent and responsive we are.You may be concerned that saying no could impact you later, but there’s a limit to what you can handle. So instead of “yes” or “no”, offer choices, such as “What order would you like me to get these done in?” Create transparency into your capability and capacity and the volume of demands you are facing.&nbsp;

Concern about being labeled a poor performer 

By being authentic about your limits and having the courage to ask questions, you not only reduce your unproductive activities but also create space for others, to be honest, and admit they don’t have the answers either.Admit that you don’t know the exact answer but you’re able and willing to quickly find out. Establish this early on, at the beginning of a project or when you join a new group.

The need to be right

This trigger is often tied to people’s belief that they are the most capable of doing the work well. And if you’re reluctant to delegate or connect, you sentence yourself to a life of trying to do everything yourself, which is impossible.But letting go will help you build capability in others and free up your own time to engage in work where you add the greatest value. Celebrate others’ solutions and resist the temptation to point out how you would have done it differently.

Fear of losing control of a project

This need can keep you working late at night trying to get that last little task accomplished when you no longer have the creativity or energy for it.<ul><li>Remind yourself that closure — or an empty email inbox — should not be your sole priority. Let nonpriority work or requests wait or slide off your radar altogether.</li><li>Do you attend every meeting on your calendar? The reality is, They’re not equally important. Skip those where your input isn’t needed and see if people notice.</li></ul>

Need for closure

The most efficient collaborators have an expansive tolerance for ambiguity.&nbsp;<ul><li>They focus on being directionally correct, making sure they are moving in the right general direction on the project.&nbsp;</li><li>They remain open to adapting their ideas and plans as new information comes in.</li></ul>

Discomfort with ambiguity

The fear of missing out on better projects, better colleagues, and better opportunities can become a persistent, nagging problem that won’t let you rest or stay in the moment.&nbsp;Too often, FOMO drives unproductive choices. So, we end up in projects that overburden us with collaboration and that aren’t well aligned with who we want to be or what we want to do with our lives.

FOMO (Fear of missing out)

Take a look and see how many you identify with -- and then get advice on how to fix them, from collaboration researcher and professor Rob Cross PhD.

Stashed ideas

Are you suffering from collaboration overload? 9 beliefs and fears that help drive it

Whereas a career path tends to be a singular pursuit (climb the ladder in one direction and focus on what is straight ahead), a career portfolio is a never-ending source of discovery and fulfillment. It represents your vast and diverse professional journey, including the various twists and turns, whether made by choice or by circumstance.Especially for those just starting their careers, it’s important to know that you’re not going to have everything “figured out.” The ability to navigate ambiguity and “not knowing” are in fact among the most valuable skills.&nbsp;

The career portfolio

You already have one — even if you don’t realize it, even if you’ve never had a paid job. The place to start is to identify what’s in it.While your portfolio can include traditional paid jobs, don’t limit it to that. Think bigger. Your portfolio is created by you, rather than determined for you by someone else (like a bunch of hiring managers). It reflects your professional identity and potential. It includes your unique combination of skills, experiences, and talents that can be mixed, matched, and blended in different ways.

Building a career portfolio

A career portfolio typically leads to greater ownership of your career. It also gives you a unique professional identity that evolves alongside you. It’s naturally aligned with lifelong learning and meant to help you expand your professional community and access to leadership opportunities.&nbsp;Over time, the value of your portfolio will increase by your ability to combine and weave together skills from your different experiences in order to gain new insights, tackle new problems, diversify income sources, and serve in new ways.

The benefits of a career portfolio

A “career portfolio” is a new way to think about, talk about, and craft your professional future.

Why You Should Build a “Career Portfolio” (Not a “Career Path”)

When faced with any large task or series of tasks, break the work down into short, timed intervals (called “Pomodoros”) that are spaced out by short breaks. This trains our brain to focus for short periods and helps us stay on top of deadlines or constantly-refilling inboxes. With time it can even help improve our attention span and concentration.Pomodoro is a cyclical system. We&nbsp;work in short sprints, which makes sure we’re consistently productive. We also get to&nbsp;take regular breaks&nbsp;that bolster our motivation and keep us creative.

The Methodology Of Pomodoro Technique:

<ol><li>Get a to-do list and a timer. </li><li>Set our timer for 25 minutes, and focus on a single task until the timer rings.</li><li>When our session ends, mark off one pomodoro and record what we completed.</li><li>Then enjoy a five-minute break.</li><li>After four pomodoros, take a longer, more restorative 15-30 minute break.</li></ol>

Simply, The Biggest Strength Of Pomodoros:

<ul><li>CHOOSE A TASK WE'D LIKE TO GET DONE. Something big, something small, something we’ve been putting off for a million years: it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s something that deserves our full, undivided attention.</li><li>SET THE ALARM FOR 25 MINUTES. Make a small oath to ourselves: I will spend 25 minutes on this task and I will not interrupt myself. We can do it! After all, it’s just 25 minutes.</li><li>WORK ON THE TASK UNTIL THE ALARM RINGS. Immerse ourselves in the task for the next 25 minutes. If we suddenly realize we have something else we need to do, write the task down on a sheet of paper.</li></ul>

Pt. 1: The Pomodoro Core Process consists of 6 steps:

<ul><li>WHEN THE ALARM RINGS, PUT A CHECKMARK ON A PAPER. Congratulations! We’ve spent an entire, interruption-less Alarm on a task. </li><li>TAKE A SHORT BREAK. Breathe, meditate, grab a cup of coffee, go for a short walk or do something else relaxing (i.e., not work-related). Our brain will thank us later.</li><li>EVERY 4 ALARMS, TAKE A LONGER BREAK. Once we’ve completed four alarms, we can take a longer break. 20 minutes is good. Or 30. Our brain will use this time to assimilate new information and rest before the next round of alarms.</li></ul>

Pt. 2: The Pomodoro Core Process consists of 6 steps:

The 25-minute work sprints are the core of the method, but a Pomodoro practice also includes three rules for getting the most out of each interval:<ul><li>Break down complex projects. If a task requires more than four pomodoros, it needs to be divided into smaller, actionable steps. Sticking to this rule will help ensure us make clear progress on our projects.</li><li>Small tasks go together. Any tasks that will take less than one Pomodoro should be combined with other simple tasks. For example, "write rent check," "set vet appointment," and "read Pomodoro article" could go together in one session.</li></ul>

PT. 1: Three Rules

<ul><li>Once a pomodoro is set, it must ring. The pomodoro is an indivisible unit of time and can not be broken, especially not to check incoming emails, team chats, or text messages. Any ideas, tasks, or requests that come up should be taken note of to come back to later. A digital task manager like Todoist is a great place for these, but pen and paper will do too.</li></ul>

PT. 2: Three Rules

Do more and have fun with time management. The Pomodoro Technique isn’t like any other time-management method on the market today.

"A route without a destination, however, may be efficient, but what to end?"
~Simon Sinek

Productivity & Management

The Pomodoro Technique® - proudly developed by Francesco Cirillo

<ul><li>Sifting through career options is a task with near-limitless possibilities, so have fun with your job search. Be open to different options. Keeping an open mind open mind when it comes to your job position or job title will help you find a suitable fit easier.</li><li>Don’t box your options into one category. You might be qualified for jobs that you didn’t even know about.</li><li>Having experience in more than one spectrum makes you invaluable to employers, so a career change could result in making substantially larger amounts of money.</li></ul>

Career exploration with an open mind

Asking for advice from knowledgeable sources is possibly the best way to form a career plan.&nbsp;<ul><li>Rely on the advice of people who have done it before. This could be someone internal in your organization or someone outside of it.&nbsp;</li><li>Professional networking groups can be a great tool in syncing you up with others in your industry. However, don’t just rely on those. Surfing around LinkedIn can also be a great way to get in touch with the right people.</li><li>If you applied for a job and didn’t get it, try to ask for advice and look for reasons why they didn’t hire you. This can give you direction on what to work on for the next time around.</li></ul>

Ask for career advice

Research is huge when planning the rest of your life’s work. Do you know which companies you would potentially want to work for? Do you know what job title is fit for your qualifications? Do you know what kind of salary you need? These are all questions that you should know the answer to when looking for work. Use the internet to your advantage when looking for your dream job.

Obtain as much information as possible

Professional social networking sites are a great way to help you keep tabs on your accomplishments. Your future employer can’t and won’t hire you if they don’t know what you’re capable of. Additionally, when it comes to making a case for yourself you don’t want to have to scramble to remember details. Keep samples of your work and notes on some of your accomplishments!It’s all about creating an impressive resumé/portfolio of yourself and making an action plan. Also, professional experience is becoming increasingly more influential to managers when compared to a college degree when looking at your job application. However, many employers still look for formal education, and having both is a big-ticket to success.

Keep a solid record of your accomplishments

Make goals, and crush them. Goal setting is key in successfully planning your career.
If you’re not ready for that dream job now, then what do you need to do to get there? Determine what skills you need, what projects might help you build your resume. If you’re considering a career change, how will you get that experience? Do you need a formal training program? Your goals may change over time, but having something set will ensure you’re moving in the right direction.

Set Goals

<ul>
<li>Job shadowing: Just like buying a car, trying out a job before taking it is always a great idea. What if you love the clean environment of working at an accounting firm, but you lack the necessity of being able to stand up and walk outside when necessary? Many organizations may allow you to do some job shadowing as part of your role, especially if you express interest in furthering your career with them. However, even if your organization doesn’t permit it, then consider looking for other places to get the skills. </li>
<li>Education: If you don’t quite have the skills you need to reach your career goals, then formal education may be a benefit. Do you need a degree? Would a Masters help? Sometimes just a class, certification, or other training might be all you need.</li>
<li>Take on new projects: If you’re on the right path but short a few skills, there may be room within your current job to get there. Look at what new projects and responsibilities you can take on that will help you advance your career.</li>
</ul>

Getting skills

If you’re ready to look for new jobs, here are some suggested steps:
<ol>
<li>Build an impressive portfolio/resume. Impress employers by showing them what you’re capable of.</li>
<li>Add your portfolio to online job marketplaces. Your portfolio isn’t any good if it doesn’t reach the eyes of employers. While sometimes sites like this can be spammy, they can also be a good way to find leads on jobs that you may not have considered on your own.</li>
<li>Apply to as many jobs as possible. With today’s technology, you have no excuse for applying as many job applications as possible.That means you could potentially apply for hundreds of jobs in one day. However, it can also be smart to customize your resume and cover letter for individual jobs, so don’t skimp out on effort here!</li>
<li>Be prepared for responding to job offers. Shooting at a wide range of targets means you could get a lot of responses. Be sure to respond quickly, keep an eye out for follow-ups, and be attentive. You should be prepared for multiple interview stages, have examples of your work to provide, and be prepared for the long haul — finding jobs can take a long time.</li>
</ol>

Going on the hunt

Planning your career can be challenging. What do you really want to do with your life? Are you on the right path? Is this job just a dead end or is it

Planning your career — get to the dream job you want

Buying in can mean workers consider the organization part of themselves. In many cases, employees not only get on board with a company’s stated mission, but also the culture, and feel like they share values with the organization.But while many workers buy in to the companies they work for when they’re first hired, some people find their enthusiasm fades. Several factors can lead to a loss of buy-in, like when workers believe companies fail to live up to their values or feel there’s an uneven exchange between employee and employer

Subscribing to a company's culture

These days, jobs are less and less about pure security and safety needs, and more and more about identity and belonging needs and even self-actualization.Employers and potential workers expect to share the same core values. Indeed, research shows workers increasingly value working for mission-driven companies, whose causes they care for.

The rise of buy-in

Many workers do see the work they do as meaningfully contributing to their company’s overall mission. And as an increasing number of companies advertise themselves as mission-based to attract talent, especially in dense industries, employee buy-in has become a major part of some corporate cultures.&nbsp;Buy-in can also help an employee emotionally navigate potential turmoil during their tenure, something particularly prevalent in start-ups and creative industries.: People hate uncertainty and in order to tolerate that, you have to really believe that it's there for a reason and that you’re doing it for a reason.

Having a meaningful contribution

As you start to doubt your company’s mission or think it's hypocritical, the impacts on your motivation are astounding. Without this motivation, employees are far less likely to receive recognition or promotions for their work.Distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable expectations of buy-in from companies is a very individualized decision. If you don't actually buy in but still stick to your work, it is possible to get ahead – it just won't be as personally rewarding

When enthusiasm fades

Subscribing to a company's culture is a big component of succeeding in a job. What happens when you don’t want to jump on the bandwagon?