Overwhelmed...Who Isn't Right?

Lately many people I've been talking to have been complaining, and in most cases justly so, about being overwhelmed.  I have to admit that I've wrestled with it too.  Being overwhelmed stinks!


Complaining about being overwhelmed never seems to be the remedy.  It sucks the energy right out of your life.  My schedule, work, family, just life in general can in a word overwhelm you.  Here's my advice to you-and to myself-for dealing with being overwhelmed.


1.  Recognize that overwhelm isn't real.  Its not something that attacks us.  It's a feeling we experience based upon a belief there's too much to do and too little time to do it.  It's fear-plain and simple,  And once we recognize and acknowledge it, we're better equipped to deal with it.


2.  Be grateful.  Appreciate the fact that you have the opportunities and the projects that allow you to contribute to the world.


3.  Accept the fact that you will never be caught up.  If you're a person of action, someone with goals and aspirations, it's not likely that you'll ever have an empty inbox.  The times in which we live and our ability to do meaningful work throughout our lives leads me to believe that we will always have tings left to do.


4.  Understand that we can only think about one thing at a time.  I think that "multi-tasking" is highly over rated.  We can really only handle one thought in our mind at a time.  Trying to think about more than one thing as once is very tiring and frustrating.


5.  Be selective.  The biggest weapon you have in fighting overwhelm is your ability to prioritize what you need to do.  By making intelligent  choices based upon urgent, non-urgent, important and non-important, we can focus better.  Basing these choices on our core values, we can relax in the belief that we're doing what matters the most.  


6.  Delegate.  Learn to gain the assistance of others.  People like to help but you have to ask!  Anything that can be adequately done by someone else should be delegated.  It's an important skill worth developing.


7.  Learn to say "no".  Our feelings of overwhelm largely come from taking on too much.  If you're asked to do something don't be too quick to accept the assignment.  You might think you're being a nice person, but if you succumb to health problems because of it, you won't be nice much longer.


8.  Take care of yourself.  Remember to take breaks in your life.  The tendency for many of us is to work harder and longer.  In actuality we can get more done in less time and with less effort if we take care of ourselves first.  It's not being selfish...it's being smart!


9.  Breathe!  When we feel overwhelmed we have a tendency to tighten up instead of relaxing.  It seems like there are many things at times we HAVE to do, but the only thing we REALLY have to do is breathe!  Take some long deep breaths and feel yourself returning to the present.


10.  Focus on the task at hand.  If we're thinking about what's NOT getting done or all the other things we have to do, we can't focus well on what we're doing now.  Think about  what you are doing rather than what you're not getting done.  Otherwise, you going to be defeated by your feelings of overwhelm.