Overwhelmed, tired, have a to do list so long that you’ve stopped writing one out.
Everybody’s on your case, whether it’s the kids, the boss or just your overthinking mind.
You’re feeling emotionally drained, and a small part of you wants to turn off the lights, close the curtains put your head between your hands and have some time out.
That small part is quickly growing into a big part. Almost, feels like your only option.
I need time out, just 5 minutes peace.
If you do manage to get that little bit of peace, it doesn’t last more than 20 seconds because you are then overwhelmed with thoughts.
I genuinely know how you feel.
For me, I swear I have a million things on my to do list in my head. Not only that, most of them I have no idea how to start let alone complete. It is not so much that I’m physically tired, I am just completely mentally drained. Totally overwhelmed.
When we have so much going on in our heads it becomes emotionally draining.
Shame, because we do not achieve much.
Guilt, because we should be doing more.
Fear, because we have no idea how to achieve most of it. Plus, we are going to let people down.
Over the past few weeks I found myself becoming more overwhelmed than ever before. And, I never seen it coming.
I meditate every morning, I used to do a short to do list of 6 items each night before bed. I confess, I stopped doing that because I was not doing any of the items on the list so I didn’t bother.
My days became so full of thinking what I had to do, I was no longer being able to achieve anything meaningful.
My mind was making every task bigger and more difficult until I believed I was not capable.
Now I’m talking about building my business, making new courses, selling current courses. Building my audience, reaching more people, to help them find peace of mind.
Doing my Facebook lives, YouTube videos, replying to twitter, writing blog post, and setting up my webinar to launch my group coaching.
For you it could be anything, dealing with the kids, sorting stuff for school, preparing food, housework, running the kids around, keeping appointments, food shopping, and the list goes on. And, that’s just the home life. What about socialising and work.
It’s no wonder we suddenly find ourselves overwhelmed nowadays.
We have gadgets like our mobile phone that promised to make things easier. THEY DON’T, the addiction to always being in touch has overrun our lives.
Everything has become so blurred together that theres no distinction between work, socialising, learning, and family time.
We need some practical ways we can deal with overwhelm.
Here is what I found has helped me. You know me, I believe in simple solutions that do not add more to our day that we can deal with.
That why I wrote this for you 5 Secret Practices You Need for Peace of Mind – Read it FREE HERE
You are already busy enough, you cannot simply drop everything and disappear out in nature for a couple of hours. Although, I do highly recommend that.
These are practical solutions you can fit into your normal routine.
1. Breathe deeply.
Set a timer on your phone or find a trigger in your routine that will remind you to pause for just one minute and take 5 deep breaths. Take notice of the breath and how deep it goes into your belly, how it feels going in through your nose.
Why do this?
Doing this will enable you to focus on something other than the constant chatter within your mind. It enables you to slow down, and gives you that little bit of clarity to decide what to do next. You will also become present, mindful of what is really going on around you. And, it is not as bad as you think.
2. Write something down.
Not on your phone. Get a notepad, some paper, and a pen. Keep it with you or at arm’s length at all times. Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed or thinking too much, right whatever comes into mind down. It’s private, you can throw it after.
Why do this?
The act of writing something down fools your mind into thinking it has been dealt with. Have you ever had a great idea, wrote it down and then never did anything about it?
Me too.
3. Drink water.
When we feel overwhelmed we very often forget to look after ourselves. And yes, we should be exercising, eating healthy, running 6 miles per day. But, when you do not have time and the money, sometimes these things aren’t practical.
Why do this?
Drinking water is the biggest and first step towards being healthy. It helps to clear your mind, it gives you energy, and it balances the body’s natural pH levels.
Studies have shown it also increases your mood, and helps to get rid of headaches.
4. Remove distractions.
Pause for a moment, look around and see how much you’ve got going on. Put your phone on silent, turn off the TV, limit some sounds by closing a door or two.
Why do this?
Believe it or not we are not great multitaskers. And although you may feel that the TV is company it is one extra thing for the mind to pay attention too.
There are so many studies that prove when we focus on one task we do a better job, in less time and feel more satisfaction.
We never actually multitask, the brain switches between one job and another. When your phone pings it will immediately distract you, and break you from the flow of what you’re doing. It takes a few seconds to return to the same focus level you were before.
5. Triple list system.
I came up with this system 2 weeks ago, and it has helped me ever since. Grab a piece of paper, divide it into 3 columns.
Put at the top of each column one-offs, daily, weekly.
Now just write away, every single one off job that is in your mind write it down in the one-offs column. Whether it’s make a phone call, or climb Mount Everest. Everything big and everything small that you just need to do once.
Do similar for the daily and weekly, although these jobs will be smaller at least they are now out of your mind.
Now prioritise all items in the 3 columns.
Magic, you now have the most important one off task.
The most important daily and weekly task to do next.
Do not do anything else on the one-offs until you’ve done that top one. Don’t even look at the list, just do that one most important thing and stick at it until it is done. Even if it takes 3 days.
Why do this?
If you keep everything in your head there’s no ordered list, it is just a jumbled mess. Although you loosely know what’s important and what isn’t, your subconscious mind doesn’t.
Hence why you could be driving your car and your minds wants to check Facebook.
Writing your tasks down in this way gives you the ability to focus on what’s important and clear your mind for that task only.
There is no one simple solution to avoid being overwelmed.
There are many other ways you can deal with overwhelm, nearly all involved taking time out and focusing on something so you can clear your mind.
A walk-in nature, listen to some music, intentionally watch a TV program, and simply stop what you’re doing.
One of the biggest problems with overwhelm is how it creeps up on us without knowing.
It takes over until you find it hard to cope, whether it is emotionally or physically. You can check out 3 Ways to Deal with Overwhelming Emotions
It starts with becoming aware, when you become aware that the overwhelm is building you can do something about it.
You will find your own ways to deal with your overwhelm. I’ve given you some pointers, some great practical and simple ways that you can perfect for yourself.
Confession time, today I was feeling overwhelmed and that’s why I turned everything off and wrote this blog.
It has helped a lot.
In the comments below let me know how you deal with your overwhelm, this will help others in dealing with theirs.
Photo by Xavier Sotomayor on Unsplash
