"As a manager, you’re simply not allowed to have a bad day. The moment you walk through the door or log on, your team is watching your energy. One heavy sigh or short tone from you can throw the whole team off. You’re expected to be steady, positive, and solution-focused—even when your personal life is falling apart or you’ve got ten problems of your own weighing on you.

The truth is, you’re carrying two loads at once: your own hidden struggles plus every issue your team brings you. A team member’s conflict, burnout, or performance problem instantly becomes yours to fix while still hitting your deadlines. It’s exhausting, but it’s part of the role.

Lately, things have been quite a whirlwind! One of my supervisors just announced he's retiring at the end of the month, and I'm already down one supervisor. Plus, another is going on long-term medical leave. On the home front, we are celebrating the birth of our first grandson and wanting to be there for my daughter and son-in-law as much as we possibly can. Meanwhile, I'm trying to sell a rental property that's in rough shape, and one of my vehicles is on its last legs. At work, my team is scrambling to figure out the night shifts for the next two weeks, but no one seems eager to volunteer. To top it off, one of my electricians is convinced someone is messing with his work area.

So how do you handle those days when you’re barely holding it together?

First, create a private reset ritual. That might take five minutes to breathe. I usually close my office door and just take a moment to gather my thoughts. Sometimes that doesn’t work and I have to grab my hardhat, safety glasses, and hearing protection and walk the plant. I know that it is hard to reset when the world is crashing in, especially when something has come up overnight unexpectedly. You will find that the 5 to 10 minutes you take for yourself will help you overcome the stress that is building. You need that time for yourself. The place is not burning down, you have time to reflect and focus.

Second, be honest without oversharing. You can say something like, 'I’m dealing with a tough personal situation today, but I’m here and I’ve got your back.' People respect honesty more than fake perfection. If you are having an overwhelming day it is a good idea to do the manager thing and delegate. Take some things off your plate, maybe have a team member attend the least important meetings. I like to use my supervisors to get some of the low level things done. I started unloading some of the department’s actions. We have rework reports that need to be answered and most of my supervisors are more familiar with the “why” and are able to get those reports completed quickly and then I can review and approve.

Third, protect your time and energy ruthlessly. There are times were my open-door-policy will not work. I need to get my work done and I don’t have time for the “gotta minute” distraction. That’s when I close my door and focus my energy on getting my work done. I turn my notifications off, I pour a cup of coffee, and take a deep breath. When the distractions come I turn them away… and that can be hard to do when you want to help your team. But you have to do it. Just do it and you will get better at it.