Feeling Overwhelmed? Try This.

We all feel overwhelmed at times.  And overwhelm is no stranger to lack of follow through.

Don’t beat yourself up and don’t put so much pressure on yourself if you are having difficulty right now completing something.

The mind on overwhelm is complicated.  It’s going to signal you to feel an array of emotions which can leave you feeling anywhere from anxious to exhausted.

But there are things you can do to control the chaos and be productive again.

Here’s how:

First, you need to capture it.Take the ‘overwhelm’ out of your head and put it on paper, where you can distance yourself from it a bit.  Just brain dump everything that is gnawing at you that you would like to get done.

Then I want you to sort it all out.  We refer to this as “Chunking.”  Think of it as categorizing your tasks and to-dos with headings and then sub-headings (keeping like with like).

Here’s an example:

ERRANDS (Category)                                         CALLS (Category)
Post Office (Sub)                                                  Make Eye Dr. Appt. (Sub)
Dry Cleaners (Sub)                                              Dinner Reservations (Sub)
Bank (Sub)                                                             Home repair estimates (Sub)

Next, choose the category that you want to take care of immediately.  Don’t overthink it.

And finally, take Action.  Either do it immediately, schedule it into your calendar, delegate the task, but take action right there and then.

By doing this simple exercise your mind will reward you by feeling uplifted and more positive.

Remember, break things down as much as possible whenever you feel it’s getting too big for your mind to handle.  It’s how you find simplicity in the complicated.