In this blog post in the series, I’m going to discuss what I do to help kick overwhelm to the kerb and get myself back on track with whatever it is I’m hoping to achieve.
Now I want to say before I begin, this is in relation to my business and personal life, and I am not medically trained. Please seek professional advice if there’s something that you’re worried about, both mentally and physically.
Why do I get overwhelmed?
In my business, I think the main reason I get overwhelmed is because there is just so much that I want to do.
It’s not that I should do all the things, it’s that I want to. I know time’s finite, and I must make the most of what there is, but that doesn’t stop me wanting all the stuff, to achieve all the things, to make the business what I want it to be.
In my personal life, it’s because I’m struggling (and failing) to establish some solid boundaries between personal and work life tasks.
For example, as of writing this article, we’re redecorating the house. Fully. Painting everything. Walls, woodwork, doors, you name it, it’s getting freshened up.
This means that there is rubbish everywhere. Which I get stressed about. I know what we’re doing is for a reason, but I can’t get over the fact that there’s a mess, and it’s getting overwhelming.
I also know that writing is important, but the mess of the house is affecting the “mess” in my mind. Not conducive to creating properly.
The reason I used this as an example is because it leads me nicely onto the next topic in this article.
How do I recognise when I’m getting overwhelmed?
In all honestly, this has taken me a few years to get to grips with. Back in the day, I would have just thrown my hands up and gone “to hell with this”, ignored whatever I was supposed to be finishing, and gone back to Netflix.
These days, I know myself well enough to know when that’s happening, and act to stop it.
I understand my own strengths and weaknesses well enough to recognise the pattern.
When I get overwhelmed, my motivation plummets. I procrastinate. I come up with reasons I shouldn’t be doing something. I listen to those reason. I stop doing the thing. I spiral into a “I should be doing” pit. The cycle continues.
However, I now understand that I’m only one person, and the idiot who says we have the same hours in the day as (insert your own celebrity here) can suck it.
I’m one person, they have a circus-troop of employees. I have a day job; they have eight figure bank balances.
So, give myself permission to panic, and then I act. Which you’ll see below.
What strategies do I use to cope with overwhelm?
Now, I’m going to relate these strategies to things I understand, my strengths. If you’re not familiar with them, these are from the Gallup Clifton Strengths test, which I took at the start of 2022, after hearing them on several podcasts.
My top five are:
- Intellection
- Futuristic
- Learner
- Strategic
- Discipline
So, when I get overwhelmed, the key strategy I use to refocus, recentre, and get myself out of that slump, is this.
First, I will make a list. It’s not an ordered list. It’s an “everything” list.
It’s some kind of mashup up between a spider diagram and some doctor scrawl. That’s my strategic (I think) coming out. I understand that to get back to on track, I need to get every single minor task onto paper, so I can reorder and prioritise.
Next, I take a few minutes away from the desk. I make a coffee (don’t @ me about caffeine, please). I stick some washing on. Something inane, something normal. Something not related to the business.
After a few minutes, I come back, and the futuristic takes control. I reorder the tasks, imagine what the week ahead, and slot everything neatly into their own places in the planner.
I’ll schedule quick wins in first. I’m all about starting a to do list with things I know I can smash out in a few minutes. Quick wins, all the way.
Those quick wins, once I have ticked them off, give me the rush of “hell yeah” that I need to get on with the rest of the tasks.
At the end of the day, I create a “done” list, rather than another to do list. The main one’s still there, but I’ll get to that tomorrow. I know I must be kind to myself, so I have a small, inner celebration about what I’ve achieved.
Sometimes, that’s nothing more than “I’m celebrating the fact I opened my manuscript and thought about it.”
That’s okay. I did something. I achieved.
Ultimately, I conquered the overwhelm. For that day, at least. Tomorrow, well, that remains to be seen.
In summary
So, there we have it, an insight into the way I deal with overwhelm in my professional and personal life.
I hope that’s helped, and now it’s over to you. What do you have in place already, or what would you like to develop that helps with the dreaded overwhelm?
I’d love to hear what tactics you’ve got, or what your experiences are, so make sure you let me know in the comments below or sign up to my free author newsletter and reach out that way.
Look forward to speaking to you soon!
Robyn
