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Welcome to Dear Social Worker. 
Let's talk the podcast that 

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prioritises you, the person 
behind the title, Social Worker.

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I'm your host, Lisa Ram, and I'm
here to help you prevent 

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burnout. 
Promote your well-being with 

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socialworkcoachinghub.com and 
welcome to another episode 

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dedicated to a feeling that many
of us as social workers have 

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definitely had. 
Or you're having right now, 

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Which is being overwhelmed with 
too much work and simply not 

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enough time. 
Let's talk about it. 

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Let's talk about it right 
There's a never ending To Do 

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List. 
We know in social work we cannot

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do everything but we want to. 
That is the real, real crux of 

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it there. 
We want to do everything, but we

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can't, and it's a constant 
struggle to find whatever in 

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quote balance is. 
So today we're going to explore 

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3 mindsets or narratives that 
contribute to feeling 

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overwhelmed along with three 
practical tips to help you 

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navigate the challenging 
landscape. 

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Because too much work and not 
enough time is something that a 

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lot of professions say, not just
social work. 

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Sometimes it's good to unpick 
where that comes from, unpick 

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the beliefs behind it, and pick 
some contributing factors and 

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mindsets that may be surrounding
it, and that can be really 

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helpful for you. 
Just reframing things, that's 

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going to help you manage a 
little bit better. 

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But before I crack on with that,
I want to remind you that we are

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approaching one year anniversary
of this very podcast. 

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I cannot believe it. 
We're nearly at one year of dear

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social worker, let's talk 
podcast. 

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So I want to thank all of the 
listeners listening all over the

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world. 
I know the majority of you are 

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here in the UK, Ireland, in the 
USA. 

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So massive shout out to you, but
wherever you're listening it 

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doesn't matter at what point you
joined me during the year last 

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year. 
Thank you, every single one of 

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you. 
I am so grateful for you. 

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I see the Spotify followers 
going up every single week and 

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it warms my heart. 
So I just want to say a big 

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thank you because I do this for 
you. 

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I want to be there for you. 
I want this to be your safe 

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space simply because it's 
something that I didn't have in 

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practice when I most needed it 
and that's why I do what I do. 

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Secondly, if you have been 
listening to me and you've got 

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any value from this, it's been 
helpful to you at any point. 

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Leave me a review on Apple 
please. 

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It's great to hear what you're 
you're thinking, how it's helped

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you. 
It's great to hear get get that 

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feedback from you. 
So leave me a review on Apple or

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any other platform that you're 
listening. 

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If you're not able to do that 
and don't think Spotify has that

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capability, then please send me 
a message or an e-mail. 

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It makes my day make a podcast. 
How's happy? 

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And please give me a review 
because it's so wonderful to 

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hear from all of you. 
It's like, Oh my goodness, 

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sometimes I forget that I have a
podcast, right? 

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And people will walk up to me 
and say I listen to your 

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podcast. 
I'm like, Oh dear, that is, 

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that's fantastic. 
And I know that sounds random 

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because I'm here every week. 
But sometimes, you know, when 

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you are in the midst of doing 
things all the time, you 

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sometimes just take that moment 
where you're taking it for 

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granted that you're doing it. 
So when someone comes up to you 

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and says they're appreciating 
what you're doing, you're like, 

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you know what? 
Thank you. 

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And it's just just one of the 
episodes I've just talked about 

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those small wins. 
It's a you are my reminder of 

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those small wins, right. 
So we got to help each other 

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out. 
On that note, if you are 

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watching this particular 
episode, you will see that it's 

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completely dark where I am. 
I am using my phone's light in 

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order to give us some lighting 
because the lighting that I have

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just here, I didn't like it. 
So we're going to go with this 

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for now. 
I didn't think I was going to go

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up to the loft and get my proper
lamp and stuff. 

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I thought, oh gosh, no, let's 
just work with what we have, 

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right? 
So on that note, that leads us 

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beautifully onto the first 
mindset that we're going to 

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explore here when we're thinking
about too much work and not 

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enough time and thinking about 
the concept of perfectionism. 

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And this can be a very common 
mindset that can exacerbate the 

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feeling of too much work and not
enough time. 

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And essentially it's like a the 
perfectionist trap. 

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Now we know as social workers we
can often feel the pressure to 

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do everything Florida State. 
But the reality is perfection 

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doesn't exist. 
Hate to break it to you. 

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It's an unattainable goal. 
Acknowledge that it's OK not to 

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be perfect and focus on doing 
your best within the given 

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constraints. 
AKA also known as You Are 

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Enough. 
I love that affirmation. 

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You are enough. 
Dear social Worker, You Are 

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enough. 
I'm signing off. 

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Lisa Ann Edwards, podcast host. 
I love that affirmation. 

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Why? 
Because it just brings that 

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sense of calm and that sense of 
reality that what you're giving 

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in this particular moment or for
that particular family is 

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enough. 
It's so difficult to do every 

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single task for every single 
family. 

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You're one person and when 
you've got reducing services and

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resources, when you've got 
budget constraints, when your 

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team's under pressure, you've 
got people are sick and annual 

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leave, that automatically 
increases the pressure for all 

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of you in the team and 
individually. 

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So you have to just remember 
what you're doing within the 

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context of the system and the 
cultural and the organizational 

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environment that you are in. 
That leads me nicely to Mindset 

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#2, the Superhero Syndrome. 
This is another contributing 

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factor to the feeling of too 
much to do, not enough time. 

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Now this Superhero Syndrome 
often applies to, I'd say, 

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probably 90% of social workers, 
right? 

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Because we have a strong desire 
to help and to fix, and the 

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helping in the fixing can 
sometimes get in the way. 

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It can get in the way of you, it
can get in the way of someone 

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else. 
The list is endless. 

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So while the passion is 
admirable, it's essential to 

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recognise your limitations. 
I'm going to say that one more 

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time. 
While the passion is admirable, 

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it's essential to recognise your
limitations as a social worker. 

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You can't do it all alone. 
You're not Superwoman. 

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You're not Batman or whatever 
they're called these days. 

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Let's just term it the marvels. 
There's got to be an element 

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here that you a create 
boundaries, B get support, C 

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delegating. 
Don't roll your eyes at me, 

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Those of you who don't have 
access to the right sort of 

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admin support, because I've been
there, there were days where 

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they would photocopy and print 
and everything, and one day I 

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walked into the admin room. 
She's like, no, we can't do 

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that. 
I was like, what came down with 

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all my, all my papers and 
everything ready to go? 

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Could you do this and could you 
do that? 

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She's like, no, we've stopped 
doing that. 

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Now stop doing that. 
It's like, so I understand those

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kind of changes that happen 
within admin as to what they can

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do, what they can't do, what 
they can support with. 

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So knowing who can do what is 
definitely a good place to 

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start. 
But also this can't do it alone.

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Element, we talked about this in
another episode, but I want to 

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remind you there is a team 
around the child use them. 

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I know sometimes the calls that 
come in, it all kind of falls on

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you to an extent. 
But the implementation of 

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certain pieces of work, they 
need to be carried out by you. 

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So make sure you are making that
clear what your expectations are

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of the other professionals that 
are supporting the children and 

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the families, right? 
That's a smart way of working 

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now. 
Remember asking for support? 

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That's a smart thing to do. 
Delegating is a smart thing to 

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do in the right context because 
it's going to help you ensure 

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that the workload that you've 
got is manageable and that 

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you're able to meet the needs of
those that need you. 

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Particularly in times of crisis 
mindset #3, the time scarcity 

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mentality, this is an 
interesting one, because 

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immediately what what comes to 
mind and for most of us will be,

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well, we don't have the time. 9 
till 5 is not enough time to do 

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what needs to be done and to 
meet all the needs that need to 

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be met and to manage crisis 
intervention when that arises, 

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right? 
But feeling like there's never 

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enough time can lead to a sense 
of panic and urgency. 

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I just want you to sit with that
for a moment. 

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When you're in a place of panic 
and urgency, what's the emotion 

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under that? 
Often that emotions going to be 

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fear. 
What is the likely outcome when 

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moving, acting, behaving from a 
place of fear? 

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Now there's a thought. 
Fear can be such a thief 

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sometimes, and it can have, if 
we allow it, a lot of power. 

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And that power mainly comes from
the fact that we don't recognise

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that the fear is what's driving 
our actions. 

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And also that fear, if when it's
living in your subconscious, it 

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can be a driving force for how 
you think, not just how you 

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behave, but how you think. 
And if our subconscious is over 

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80% of our thoughts, behaviour 
and actions, that is a lot of 

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fear happening. 
And let alone, let's not even 

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think about what impact that's 
having on your brain and your 

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body coming from that state of 
fear on an everyday basis for 

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over 80% of the time. 
So one way of just taking a 

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shift from scarcity is 1 being 
present. 

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Again, this is something I've 
been practicing because as I've 

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talked about in practice, I've 
picked up some habits. 

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I'm telling you, I've picked up 
some habits and I'm only really 

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gaining this awareness, being 
out of practice for this 

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extended period of time. 
I'm like, these are things that 

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I've had on a list to work on. 
I haven't had time to really 

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focus on it, just been doing 
pieces of it as I've been going 

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along. 
OK, great, that is progress. 

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But this year on my list 
certainly is focusing on being 

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present in the moment. 
One thing at a time. 

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We know that social work does 
not work that way. 

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It doesn't work that way. 
So where are you going to find 

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pockets of time spaces in your 
day to be present? 

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And why do you think it's 
important to be present? 

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What is that going to give you? 
First of all, it's going to help

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you take a step away from fear. 
That's the first thing. 

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So if we're taking a step away 
from the emotion of fear, what 

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emotion do you feel would be an 
outcome of that? 

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What's the opposite of fear? 
You can shift your perspective 

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by practising mindfulness, and 
I'll talk to you about it in 

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another episode that I've been 
trying to practise. 

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Just sitting, you know, and it's
taking a minute because social 

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work means you're on the go all 
the time. 

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It's not just your body, but 
it's your brain. 

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Just because you've come home 
doesn't mean it just stops, 

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right? 
This is a skill that you have to

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learn now. 
The last thing I'm going to 

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mention here is attempt or I 
invite you to focus on the time 

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you do have and prioritise tasks
based on their importance. 

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Focus on the time you do have 
and prioritise tasks based on 

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their importance. 
That completely shifts it from I

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don't have time, doesn't it? 
And that scarcity element linked

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to time. 
If you're focusing on what you 

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can do and the time you do have,
you can prioritise with that. 

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OK, so let's move on to three 
practical tips to help alleviate

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the pressure and create a 
healthier work life balance. 

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Now before I delve any further, 
I know I keep referring to the 

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word balance. 
It just comes so naturally and 

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that in itself is an indication 
of social learning, right? 

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I'm not a fan of this word 
balance because I think work, 

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life balance, it sets us up to 
attempt to get that, but often 

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we we struggle with it. 
So I think the word balance 

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still needs to be changed. 
Whether it's work life choices, 

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work life responsibilities, I 
don't know. 

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You let me know what that word 
should be. 

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But either way, what we're 
saying is work should be work 

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and life should be life outside 
of work. 

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When you come home from work, 
everything should shut down as 

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far as you possibly can, right? 
A worker with integrity, A 

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worker that's really caring 
about their families. 

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It's going to be playing on your
mind in some capacity. 

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You have to decide and you have 
to know what are your 

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limitations as a social worker 
to know when you are stepping 

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into the realms of being 
overwhelmed and burnt out. 

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This is when you need to scale 
back and pull back some control.

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And this is what we talked about
before. 

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If you listened to previous 
episodes about the sphere of 

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influence. 
Briefly, if you're listening to 

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this for the first time, the 
sphere of influence is 3 

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circles. 
The middle circle is green. 

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It says control. 
These are all the things you can

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control. 
The 2nd circle is yellow. 

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This is called influence. 
These are all the things that 

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you can have influence over. 
And your red circle, 

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unfortunately, where most of us 
live, is where you have no 

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control or no influence over 
what's happening. 

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Now a lot of us are worried 
about things that we have no 

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control and no influence over. 
But actually, if we take it to 

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the place where we're thinking 
about what do I, what can I 

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influence or what do I have 
complete control over in your 

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green area, it shifts. 
It helps you shift that 

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perspective. 
Now this is some of this is one 

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of the models I use in my 
coaching sessions. 

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When a social worker comes in 
and they are so stressed, so 

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worried, so concerned about how 
they're going to meet the 

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demands and what we do, We start
with this model, which 

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automatically starts to slow the
brain down. 

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It helps to reframe and refocus 
on what you can do and what you 

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can influence and everything 
else dissipates as a result of 

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just focusing and zero in on 
that and making your plan around

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your green and yellow zone. 
So when we are looking at 

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practical tips to help alleviate
pressure and create work life 

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choices, am I going to say I 
don't know, but you know what I 

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mean, right? 
These are the kind of things 

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that I think we could be 
thinking about #1 boundaries. 

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We talk about this a lot. 
We've got to bring it up again. 

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What is your boundary? 
Understanding your limits and 

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being able to communicate them 
effectively as a social worker 

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is key for you to be able to 
maintain longevity in the role. 

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It's OK to say no when you need 
to, when you need to look after 

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yourself, when you need to look 
after your family. 

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Book all of your holidays in 
advance. 

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Book some long weekends. 
I used to book mine. 

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I didn't even know where I was 
going. 

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I would just go through the 
diary and say, right every six 

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to eight weeks I'll have that 
Friday or that Monday or that 

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Wednesday. 
I'll have two weeks over there, 

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one week over there. 
I did. 

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Had no idea where I was going, 
but it served as a reminder of 

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the break that I needed to take.
Because I understood my 

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boundaries and my limits and 
what I needed to do for myself. 

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Care. 
So it's crucial to establish the

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clear boundaries between work 
and personal life now. 

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It's still January. 
Make it happen. 

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No excuses. #2 talked about this
The Art of prioritisation. 

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Identify the most critical tasks
that require your attention and 

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focus on those social workers. 
Delegate when and where 

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possible, trusting your team or 
your colleagues to share the 

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load where you can. 
Remember you're not on your own.

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Even if you feel you can't go to
your team, you can't go to your 

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manager. 
You know anything along those 

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lines? 
You've got me, I'm here. 

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We've got a WhatsApp group, 
we've got a free membership 

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group, you've got download, 
you've got past podcast 

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00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,000
episodes. 
You can do coaching sessions 

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with me directly, We can do 
coaching programs in groups. 

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We've got it all. 
And the reason for that is when 

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I was in practice, I didn't have
access to all this stuff. 

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I didn't have access to this 
support. 

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I didn't have access to people 
who understood how I was 

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feeling, understanding what that
overwhelming anxiety and burnout

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was like. 
Understanding the how that the 

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weight on the shoulders was just
so heavy and not being able to 

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find a way to navigate it that 
was healthy and whole. 

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And being able to prioritise me 
towards the end of my practising

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years, I got way better at it. 
Way, way better at it. 

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Oh my gosh, so good. 
Not everyone was happy with my 

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boundaries but it was what it 
was. 

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So please prioritisation. 
Now if you're a person who is 

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not sure how to do this or you 
struggle to do this. 

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If you go to 
socialworkcoachinghub.com or 

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00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:43,240
Amazon dot com type in social 
work practice, well-being, 

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Planner Under Social Work 
Coaching hub or my author name 

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LA Edwards, there is a book that
can help you. 

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A planner that can help you plan
everything your personal life, 

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00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:02,600
your well-being, yourself care, 
and your practice all in one 

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00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,160
space. 
It's undated, so you can buy it 

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00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,600
at any time of the year. 
But use these resources that are

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here to help you if you're not 
sure how to prioritise yourself.

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Care or you need some support 
with that. self-care. 

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Journal for Social Workers is 
available on Amazon. 

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LA Edwards is the author name. 
You've got no excuse. 

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The tools and resources are 
there. 

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Use them right. 
Last tip, self compassion. 

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Remember you are human. 
I remember my nan would say 

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she's from the Caribbean. 
My nan would say to in fact my 

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00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:50,640
uncles and my mum. 
I y'all thought this. 

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00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,440
I y'all thought this. 
Lisa and I worked too hard, you 

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00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:59,240
know, she worked too hard 
because sometimes I would go to 

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my nan after work and be like, 
Oh my God, I'm so tired, right? 

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So she would say to me, you're 
doing too much, you're only one 

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00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:14,920
person, right? 
So And she would make me food, 

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00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,600
you know, you know what Nan's 
are like, do all that good 

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00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:22,520
stuff, that wholesome stuff. 
So the same kind of kindness 

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00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:27,480
that my nan would show me. 
Sometimes you have to show that 

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00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:34,000
kind of kindness to yourself and
that kindness that you extend to

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00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:38,080
others, you have to extend that 
to yourself. 

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So it comes back to the same 
thing. 

333
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:48,440
Practising self-care, taking 
breaks, celebrating small 

334
00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:53,360
victories, practising self-care,
taking breaks, celebrating small

335
00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,640
victories. 
Because by nurturing yourself, 

336
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,680
being kind to yourself, you're 
better equipped to handle the 

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00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,720
challenges that come your way. 
And remember, in the previous 

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00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,520
episode I said that it's not 
skill that keeps you in the role

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of social work, it's character. 
So these are skills that you 

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00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:19,000
need to be building up over time
that is going to ensure your 

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00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,600
longevity in social work. 
And even if you were to go into 

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00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:27,240
another role that was a caring 
style, role is going to ensure 

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00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:30,120
your longevity in that role as 
well. 

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It's character that keeps you 
there. 

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So as we wrap up today's 
episode, remember you are not 

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00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:45,000
alone in feeling overwhelmed. 
And as random as it may sound, 

347
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,120
you might have to simply just 
plan for when you do feel 

348
00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:52,200
overwhelmed. 
What's your strategy? 

349
00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:56,080
What are you going to do? 
Who are you going to speak to? 

350
00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:04,400
Where's your support? 
By adjusting your mindset and 

351
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,240
implementing these practical 
tips that we've talked about, 

352
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:12,160
you will be able to navigate the
demanding landscape of social 

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00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:17,120
work with greater be resilient 
and and whilst looking after 

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00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:21,960
yourself and your well-being. 
Nothing gets better than that. 

355
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,960
At the beginning of the year, 
plan for it now. 

356
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,680
I'm going to be developing a kit
for you to support you on this 

357
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,120
journey. 
I'm going to tell you more about

358
00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:37,160
it as it's available. 
I'm going to keep strum about it

359
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,000
for now, but just between me and
you, just me and you, yeah, 

360
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:43,560
we're going to get this kit 
going. 

361
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,800
So you will have all the tools 
and the resources that you need 

362
00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:51,160
to support you. 
Remember the mindsets that we 

363
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:55,240
talked about earlier? 
Yeah, the perfectionist chap, 

364
00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,320
the superhero Syndrome, the time
scarcity mentality. 

365
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,640
They all can contribute to the 
feeling of overwhelm. 

366
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:09,000
Recognising them, raising your 
awareness about them, is what's 

367
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,840
going to save you from becoming 
burnt out and overwhelmed. 

368
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,800
I've been your host, Lisa ran on
the Dear Social Worker Let's 

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00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,640
Talk podcast. 
Until next time, take care of 

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00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,440
yourself and keep making a 
positive impact in the lives of 

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00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:28,800
those you serve. 
And remember, you are not alone.

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I'll see you next week.