Time to read: 53 seconds
My pup on an airplane
Are you feeling overwhelmed? Personal things. Work things. Too much news. Darker days here in the North. If you're overwhelmed, keep reading to find some relief. If you feel great, this is information for another day.
Here are four things you can do right now to manage your overwhelm.
- Take a break: If you are truly overwhelmed, like your brain is short-circuiting and you can't think, you must stop. Take a walk. Go home for the afternoon. Snuggle your dog. Give your brain a chance to reset and refocus.
- Make a list: When you have a lot on your plate, writing it all down helps you break each thing into smaller, manageable bites. Checking items off the list feeds your brain and motivates you to continue. Sometimes, I write my list in small chunks of time, meaning the things I will get done in the next hour in the order I will do them. For example: gym, walk dogs, scoop litter boxes, shower, write newsletter. (That's my actual list from this morning.)
- Choose your #1 priority for the day: Make it the one thing you will (must) get done today. Make it something you can complete in one day, not "write the great American novel" or "design the project plan for xyz." Your priority might be, "call Mary to get the financial data for the project plan." My #1 priority today is this newsletter, and I'm doing it right now before the day runs off.
- Focus on one task at a time: When your plate is full, it's easy to be all over the place, distracted by all the things. Narrow your view and focus. When it's time to walk the dogs, you only walk the dogs. Then shower. Then the newsletter. That's exactly what I'm doing now. A friend just called and I ignored it to finish this newsletter.
And now my #1 priority is done, and I get the dopamine hit of checking it off my list. Then I can move on to the other hundred things on the list today. Anything else is a bonus.