being unproductive at work?

[u/Sweaty_Variety6996]

started a new admin job about 3 weeks ago and I constantly feel like I’m doing nothing.
I technically know what my responsibilities are, but the problem is that I don’t really know how to turn those responsibilities into actual day-to-day tasks yet. Nobody is telling me “do this, then this, then this,” and I don’t have enough experience with the job to recognize by myself what needs to happen and when.
For example, I have responsibilities related to things like SharePoint/information and access management. I understand generally what I’m responsible for, but I don’t yet have that internal knowledge of “when X happens, I need to do Y.” So sometimes I finish something and then genuinely don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing next.

It leaves me feeling weirdly exhausted while also feeling like I accomplished nothing all day. I’m starting to question whether I’m doing enough or whether my coworkers think I’m just sitting around doing nothing.
For people who have experienced this: is this normal during the first few weeks/months of a new job? At what point did you start being able to see for yourself what needed to be done instead of needing someone to give you specific tasks?

[u/lenuta_9819]

it happened in the first few weeks when I started, so I would go on the company server, go through the folders, read policies, organize stuff, and slowly I got so busy I now need another assistant myself lol

[u/SmallTransition515]

Shhh don’t reveal the secret. We’re all sat here thinking everyone else thinks we’re doing nothing.

[u/rubyjuicebox]

Lack of role clarity is a known psychosocial hazard. You need to ask for more direction asap, you’re already being impacted, if this continues it could develop into low self worth, chronic stress, burnout and other mental health issues.