I feel
overwhelmed A LOT. (Just look at my blog
title- The World Overwhelms ME!) I’ve
been coming up with ways to reduce my own anxiety and overwhelm (I know,
they’re not exactly the same thing), and I realized that there are two
different types of help for overwhelm.
There are ways to feel calmer RIGHT NOW when overwhelm hits, and there
are ways to work on reducing the severity and frequency of how overwhelms
appears in my life.
Overwhelm
band aids- ways to reduce overwhelm right now:
1. Focus on
what IS working. Because you’re awesome
and you shouldn’t forget it.
2. Look at
the progress instead of the gap. Looking
forward at the gap between where you are and where you want to be can be really
overwhelming. Instead, look backwards to
see how much progress has been made.
3. Initiate
‘survival mode’- just get through the day/ week. Only do stuff that absolutely HAS to be done
right now. Stayin’ alive is the mantra
for this one.
4. Just pick
ONE thing. It doesn’t matter. Just pick something and DO it. Don’t judge
whether it’s the ‘best’ or ‘right’ thing to do.
Action leads to clarity.
5. Meditate…
If you already know how. If you don’t, then skip this one!
6. Take a
shower. It gives your brain time to
process without having to produce.
7. Organize
something- but super simple- don’t let it lead to a million more tasks
8. Just get
rid of some tasks or even whole projects- What can be done quickly, right
now? What can just be ignored, at least
temporarily? What can be back-burnered? Just delete them, I won’t tell.
9. Limit your
choices… flip a coin if necessary.
10. You don’t
have to see the whole staircase to take the first step. It’s ok not to know the big picture yet. Trust yourself to figure it out when it’s
time to figure it out. Just write down
the next, TINY little step (can be done in 30 minutes or less, no sweat)
11. Just say
‘fuck it’ and go do something fun.
12. Take a
digital detox/ limit the information coming in.
Put yourself in digital time out until you settle down and are ready to
rejoin the group.
13. Replace
your negative mental self talk. Try
saying only nice things to yourself for 5 minutes.
14. Exercise. You’ll feel better about yourself and give
your brain a break.
15. Don’t let
perfect be the enemy of good. Sometimes,
the best thing you can do is just finish it by any means necessary.
16. Ask for
help right now. Just the act of asking
can help, even if you don’t take anyone up on it.
17. Don’t
multitask… try forcing yourself to focus.
If it works, great. If not, let
it go and try something else.
18. Just breathe. Seriously. Do nothing else for a few minutes. Just breathe. That is enough.
18. Just breathe. Seriously. Do nothing else for a few minutes. Just breathe. That is enough.
