The Emotional Load No One Logged in JIRA (Vol. 1, Issue 3)

Excerpt:

Burnout doesn’t start with tasks. It starts with the invisible emotional work PMs perform every week. This issue names it — and helps you lighten it.

Full Issue

I looked at my JIRA board last week and realized something strange:

Not a single ticket read:

• “Worry for 72 hours about tomorrow’s steering committee.”

• “Absorb tension between architects and developers because nobody else wants to.”

• “Carry the fear that this dependency will explode during UAT.”

• “Emotionally regulate four people while pretending this is fine.”

Funny how the real project — the emotional one — never makes it into the tool.

Welcome back to The PMTales Dispatch, where we talk honestly about the parts of the job nobody dares log.

This Week’s Tale From the Field

There’s a creature in Deliveria known as the Emotional Load Lurker.

It’s invisible. It clings to PMs. And it feeds off every unspoken expectation you carry.

Most PM burnout doesn’t come from workload. It comes from the invisible weight of things you can’t say aloud.

Like:

• “I think leadership is panicking.”

• “I’m scared this sponsor is about to escalate.”

• “This team is exhausted and won’t admit it.”

• “I’m the only one who knows how fragile this timeline is.”

You are performing emotional labour every day.

It just isn’t listed under “deliverables.”

Survival Lesson #3: Make the Invisible Legible

You’re running two projects simultaneously:

The Visible Project

• Tasks, deadlines, budgets, risks.

The Invisible Project

• Tension, uncertainty, emotional buffering, fear of failing publicly.

The second one is the real energy drain.

Here’s the ritual I use:

Step 1 — Sit for 60 seconds

Ask:

“What am I carrying that nobody else sees?”

Step 2 — Write down 1–2 items

The moment you name them, they lose weight.

Step 3 — Surface ONE thing

Not the whole emotional iceberg — just the tip.

For example:

“I’m sensing anxiety around this deliverable. Can we clarify expectations?”

Small truth, big relief.

From the PMTales Armory

When the emotional load spikes, use:

PM Survival Fundamentals (Emotional Load Module) - Why burnout happens and how to prevent it.

Your brain deserves fewer spinning plates.

Field Note of the Week

Here’s something most PMs never hear:

You’re not overwhelmed because you’re weak. You’re overwhelmed because you’re carrying what others refuse to acknowledge.

That’s emotional labour. And it’s real work.

What to Explore Next

• Tale: Any PMTales story featuring executive pressure

• Field Guide: Emotional Load & Perfection Traps

• Armory: Tools that reduce mental tracking

Until Next Week

You’re allowed to set boundaries. You’re allowed to name the weight. And you’re allowed to stop carrying things alone.

See you in the trenches,

D.B. Trench

PM, storyteller, bearer of all unspoken burdens

See all Dispatch issues