The Danger of Being Good at Doing Too Much

“I can do both jobs.” Permission To, Chapter 2

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Three years before chest pain sent me to the emergency room and forced me to acknowledge that I was burned out, I walked into my boss’s office and immediately knew something was wrong.

Our administrative assistant had unexpectedly quit by text message, leaving a considerable gap behind her.

Most people would have responded with something reasonable: “That’s terrible. I hope we find someone soon.”

Not me.

Before my boss could say another word, I blurted out, “I can do both jobs.”

No one had asked me to. No one had even suggested it. I simply saw a problem and volunteered to become the solution.

At the time, I thought this was one of my greatest strengths. I walked out of his office feeling proud. I had stepped up.

Problem solved. ✅

Except the problem wasn’t solved. I had simply moved it inside my own body.

Soon, I was handling marketing, administration, payroll, bookkeeping, invoicing, scheduling, customer service, content creation, graphic design, social media, event planning, photography, purchasing, website maintenance, human resources, tech support and cleaning.

And I organized it all in a colour-coded Excel spreadsheet.

I wasn’t an employee anymore. I was a small business trapped inside a person.

But the work got done. That made the workload look reasonable, even though it wasn’t.

Three years later, I would end up on medical leave for burnout.

We are carrying a lot right now

This happened years ago, but it feels especially relevant today.

According to Mental Health Research Canada, 39% of Canadian employees report feeling burned out, up from 35% in 2023.

Work is only one part of what many people carry. The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence’s Caring in Canada 2026 report found that 77% of caregivers experience negative effects on their well-being, including stress, fatigue and burnout.

Technology is supposed to lighten the load, but that does not always happen. A recent Australian workplace study found that AI had failed to reduce workloads for more than three quarters of the workers surveyed. One in eight said their unpaid overtime had increased after AI was introduced.

Saved time does not necessarily become rest. Often, it becomes room for more work.

That was what my colour-coded spreadsheet did. It helped me complete an unreasonable amount of work more efficiently. It did not make the workload healthy. It only helped me sustain it longer.

Praise is not always proof that something is working

When you are exceptionally good at doing too much, people often reward you for it.

They come to you because they know you will find a way. That recognition can feel wonderful, especially when you have spent your life connecting your value to what you can accomplish for other people.

But praise is not always proof that something is healthy.

Sometimes, it means your overextension has become convenient for everyone around you.

Capability is not capacity

Every time I said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” I taught the people around me that I did.

They saw the completed work. They did not see what it cost me.

I don’t want to become less capable. I still care deeply. I still love creating, helping and making things happen.

But I am learning to stop treating my capability as an endlessly renewable resource.

Now, before I say, “I’ve got it,” I try to ask:

• Do I genuinely want to do this?

• Do I realistically have room for it?

• What will I have to put down to carry it?

• Am I saying yes because this responsibility belongs to me, or simply because I know I can handle it?

Being able to carry something does not mean it is yours to carry.

Sometimes, the clearest sign that you are doing too much isn’t that you are falling apart. It’s that you have become remarkably good at holding everything together.

This is one of the stories I share in Everything’s Fine, my one-woman comedy show about people-pleasing, overachieving, mental load and all the things we learn to carry without questioning them.

Do you recognize yourself in this story?

Your voice belongs here. This space is for listening, together.