I have always been the “go-to” person throughout my career because I enjoy helping people. People affectionately called me “Get It Done McClean” or “Superman” — great names for stroking one’s ego but I started to consistently burn myself out trying to help everyone.

It got to the point where I was catching a cold almost every week. My body was telling me to rest but I kept on going until my health worsened and I was forced to rest. While recuperating in bed I decided to read “The One Minute Manager Meets The Monkey” by Kenneth H. Blanchard, William Oncken Jr –

This is an excellent book that discusses what happens when a person comes to you with a problem and you agree to do something about the problem or, as Blanchard describes it… the monkey climbs off his or her back and onto yours. Then it dawned on me. Here I am dealing with all these people’s monkeys, feeding them, trying to take care of them the best I can and in the end my own monkey is suffering from neglect and I am paying with it through my declining health.

Here are the 5 ways I learned to get the monkeys off my back and you can too:

1.  Say ‘No’ More Often And Stop Volunteering For Everything. It is always good to assist when possible but I have found over the years that the more you give the more people expect of you. Give people the opportunity to learn to solve their problems on their own. Chances are that if you give someone back their own problem (or monkey) and they do not bring it to completion it was never that important to them in the first place.

2. Stop Shuffling Papers Back And Forth. When trying to cut down your mountain of paperwork, it is best to handle each piece as it appears. There are three piles that pieces of paper fall into:

A) Complete today and file away;

B) Leave for another day; and

C) Throwaway.

Identify and place the paper you are holding into the appropriate pile and move on to the next piece. Within no time your mountain will turn into a molehill.

3. Where Possible, Delegate More – Many people are capable of assisting you if they are given the proper time or resources. You don’t have to be the only one taking on the burden.

4. Make Minor Decisions Quickly and Don’t Waste Time Agonizing Over Decisions. You may not be able to change the past, but you can deal with the present to change the future. Keep moving forward in all that you do. It may not always be perfect but it may be at least a step in the right direction.

5. Make People Know That You Are Unavailable At Certain Times. Having an open door policy is not always the best approach when working on multiple projects. If you do not respect your time then is it not fair for us to expect other people to respect our time. Take time to plan and feed your starving monkey with no regrets.

There is a fine line between always helping people out and being taken advantage of… especially when people do not return the favour when you are in need of assistance. By Saying ‘No’ More Often, Stopping The Paper Shuffle, Delegating More Where Possible, Making Minor Decisions Quickly and Letting People Know That You Are Unavailable At Certain Times you will start to get the monkeys off your back and start to find more balance in your life.