I have been quite a few conversations this week with people who are feeling overwhelmed.
The definition of overwhelm found online: “bury or drown beneath a huge mass” and “defeat completely.”
It doesn’t sound so good when we apply those definitions to our lives! Whoa.
My goal today is to remind you of a few, hopefully helpful ideas around feeling what is so commonly called overwhelm.
-Remember that the words you use to describe things are powerful. Watch what you tell yourself about your current situation. Whatever you think about and the way you speak about it only serves to strengthen it.
-Consider what you are saying yes to. Take a refresh of your time and priorities and make sure that they are in alignment. Let some things go.
-Remember the tried and true brain dump- when things get to feeling too much, it’s likely you may be trying to keep too many things in your head. Get out a pad of paper and write down every single thing you have to do, want to do, etc. EVERYTHING. Just getting it out of your head and on to the paper will give you some instant relief. Go through and cross out everything that is not actually a priority and delegate those things that you can.
-Once you have a good list, as yourself, “what is the next best thing to do?” What is the top priority? Ask “today, what are my top 1, 2 or 3 priorities?” Then make a quick check list of actions you will take to move them forward. Put these actions into your schedule.
-On Sunday take time to rewrite your list and and plug priorities into your week.
-Take a walk and breathe deeply.
Take a little time to gain some perspective and you will loosen the feeling that has you off kilter. Take an action or two and you will start to feel even better. It’s good to have a lot to do- it means you are engaged in life- think about all of the good things within your to-do’s. What a privilege it is to have such a list of to-do’s.