Feeling Overwhelmed? Try This . . .

Feeling overwhelmed? I hear you!

School just started for my kids, work is crazy busy right now, and the house is a disaster.

What’s a girl to do?

My instinct is to start rushing around trying to get everything done, but experience has taught me that that is the worst way to handle overwhelm. Inevitably I’ll end up sick, angry or both. Not good. I’ve learned that when I start feeling the stress levels rise due to too much on my plate, it’s time to step back, take a deep breath and SLOW DOWN.

If you can relate, give this method a try:

Get it out of your head. Instead of having a million ideas, to-do’s and appointments running around my brain, I brew a cup of tea and make a list of EVERYTHING (no matter how small) that needs done. Write it down.
Delegate & Delete. Take a look at that master list and determine what can be delegated and what can be deleted (or at least deferred). Examples: If it’s a super busy time, do I really have to take that trip to Goodwill? Or can I just cross it off the list and take care of it when life calms down. Do the towels have to be perfectly folded or can I just ask the kids to do it and live with messier linen closets?
Prioritize. With a slightly shorter list, it’s time to prioritize. Give every item a number 1 to whatever. Sometimes I’ll divide my list into 3 categories: Work, Coaching Business and Personal. Then I’ll prioritize within category – so I’ll have a #1 for Work, a #1 for Coaching and a #1 for Personal. Sometimes I just number it all in one big lump. Both methods work – your preference.
Get Moving. Start at #1 on your list and finish it. Then move on to #2 (or #1 for your second category). Continue to move on down the list item by item.

Before you know it, you’ve made some progress. Even if you just complete a few items, they are the most important ones, so you’ve been successful!

What do you do when you start to get overwhelmed? Do you have a specific strategy that you fall back on when life gets crazy?