I am drowning in work.

I am drowning in work. My boss, whom I like very much, can be demanding and sometimes unreasonable. He is also a great at supporting me and helping me reach my professional goals. When I took this position it was nothing like I thought it was going to be and I felt very lost there for awhile… but I did it and I created a great role for myself. I had my review recently and it was great. Ever since though, I feel like the wheels are falling off. Things are ramping up at work and the pressure is on. We were in a meeting and it was contentious between both sides, my boss and the vendor. My boss asked me why their invoice was not paid and I answered him honestly. I thought we were redesigning one of the plans and to hold off on the payment. Well, I was mistaken. Later that day I told him that I’m overwhelmed and it’s difficult to focus on so many moving parts. I need to focus on invoices and not be on so many meetings. After that conversation he was very cool towards me. Today we had a conversation and he told me that he thought I put him in a vulnerable position when I said I didn’t pay the invoice because we were redesigning when I knew that we had the plan and it was signed and final. I looked at him and said I misspoke I guess. He looked at me and I said I’m not lying…. Why would I say that if I didn’t think that’s what was happening??? He told me to stop being on calls and to focus on getting this big project we have off the ground and to focus on the invoices and the legal documents. I am not feeling settled about this and I’m not sure why. I made a mistake and I guess I could have answered differently but I didn’t because he was yelling at me along with the vendor. Can someone see something here that I’m not??

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4 Comments

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  1. Anonymous

    You are learning and can't handle the workload. You feel unsettled because you have been taken out of a higher visibility role to a project focused role. That might feel like a demotion but it will give you a chanced to grow into the role of facilitator. It's better to prepare and grow than overshoot.

  2. Anonymous

    My take is you're feeling unsettled because your boss was upset with you. Where you felt like the wheels were churning in a great way, you answered your own question. You have been pulled into so many directions that it's hard to focus if you're in meetings constantly. Your boss sounded agitated because you didn't pay the vendor, and that could lose business. Come up with a plan, and go to your boss letting him know, you know, I know I misunderstood our direction and didn't pay the invoice as I thought we were holding off. I have a proposal, so this doesn't happen again and want to see what you think? If there is a routine meeting with certain vendors, then put that in the proposal so you can still be a part of conversations if need be. I am betting your boss will appreciate that you acknowledged the mistake, you are making efforts to correct the mistake, and you are making plans this doesn't happen again. This will make you re-shine in his eyes. Keep us posted!

  3. Anonymous

    My two cents- He was using you as a scape goat and wanted you lie or play along? A read the room kind of thing. I've had this happen to me and it was kind of understood that if something like that happened, I was to "play along". I don't think he is upset with you even though he was yelling- he was playing a role- politicking. I don't think you have anything to worry about... I can see how this was unsettling though.

  4. Andre Jones
    Reading through your situation, it really hits close to home—sometimes being caught in the middle of high-pressure work situations feels like trying to play a fast-paced game without knowing the rules, and it’s easy to misstep. I’ve been in similar spots where I thought I understood the plan but got blindsided when things went sideways, and the weight of accountability just crushes you for a moment. Playing around with the mostbet app has actually taught me a bit about keeping focus under pressure check it out here: https://mostbet-app.net/—you can’t let one slip define the whole game, you adjust and keep moving, prioritizing what actually matters. In your case, owning the mistake, clarifying that you weren’t lying, and asking for clear boundaries around tasks like invoices versus meetings is solid, but it’s normal to feel unsettled afterward; that’s just your brain processing the tension. It might help to journal or mentally map out your tasks so you can separate urgent from important, which makes those high-stakes moments feel less like a storm and more like a challenge you can actually manage, one move at a time.

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