Five FAB things to do if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed!
Written by Julia Bickerstaff // February 17, 2015 // Daily Juice // No comments
Oh my! Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed. So much to do! So little time! Do you feel like that TOO?! Here are five ways that help calm ME down. Maybe they will help you as well?! ways to deal with feeling overwhelmed
1.Write an EVERYTHING list
This always helps me a LOT! An Everything list! It’s simply a list of everything I have to do. Everything! Don’t know why, but once I’ve written my ‘Everything’ list it all seems more doable. Easy and worth a try!
2.Make a PLAN
One of the bestest ways of getting rid of that awful feeling of overwhelm is to plan. But, yikes, planning takes time. And when you’re already super-busy it’s the last thing you feel like doing, yes?!
One of my favourite ways of planning works like this:
1. I get a whiteboard (or big piece of paper) and make columns on it for each type of work-y thing that’s on my mind.
2. Then I write all the tasks from my “Everything” list on to post-its and stick them in the column they relate to. Kinda like this (but with more detail! I didn’t think you’d want to see my ACTUAL list!):
Not a great photo – but so you get the gist!
3. I then give each task a number from 1 to 4 depending on how important or urgent it is. Number 1 being the most vital.
4. Once I’ve done this I re-sort the Post -its into numerical order under each column heading.
5. And then I decide when I’m going to do each task and I write that on the post-it too.
Ta-da! I have a PLAN!
I always feel calmer and more in control after doing this little exercise. It’s definitely worth the hour (max) it takes.
3.Go for a Walk
Going for a walk helps manage overwhelm for LOTS of reasons including the fact that
- walking generates the feel-good endorphins which kinda numb the overwhelm feelings AND make you feel you can do anything!
- walking gives you more energy…..which you can use to deal with all that work!
But, gah, like planning (above) it’s hard to make the time to go for a walk when you’re super-stressed about getting everything done! What can I say? I do find it hard to take time out for a walk when I’m drowning in things-to-do, but I always feel better for it! Really!
4. Ask for help!
Right! Sometimes we just can’t do all the things we need to do, and the best thing is to ask for help! Yes HELP! Seeking help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of wisdom!
What kind of help? Well of course there is the paying kind (a VA to do your Social Media, a student to help you cut material, a copywriter to do your blog posts. a techie person to do that website stuff) but there is also the NON paying kind. Like asking a fellow business owner for advice, getting a friend to help on your market stall, asking a Mum from school to help with your kids for a few hours, or even asking a customer for an extension on a deadline.
I have to say I’m not great at asking for help but I’ve gotten a LOT better. (Running a business while raising four children does that to you!)
5 STOP/Quit/Cancel!
One thing that feels fabulous and I find ALWAYS helps with overwhelm is to decide to stop doing something! Indeed! Quitting is good!
Y’know most of us have plenty of tasks on our plate that don’t really add that much to our business. Sometimes making the tough decision to STOP doing something is the best thing we can do for our business!
So if you’re drowning a bit, find something you can stop doing, NOW!
♡ YOU! ♡
So they’re my five top tips. What about YOU?! How do you manage overwhelm?! Got any tips to share?
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