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When you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, or by your to-do list, your productivity takes a hit. I used to live this daily.
Imagine it’s the morning, you wake up and all you can think about is ALL THE THINGS you need to do. The day has barely started, and you can’t help but think that there aren’t enough hours to the day.
Sound familiar?
That used to be me at my corporate job. There was a period of time, when I would walk into work, and feel exhausted even before I started my day. Why? Because all morning, not only was I dreading my work, but also, I knew that a huge to-do list was waiting for me. A to-do list that would keep getting longer, and more unmanageable.
As soon as I sat at my desk, the phone would start ringing, or emails would start flooding my inbox. And it felt like all I was doing was fighting fires.
The feeling of overwhelm would take over. Sometimes it was an ad hoc request, other times, it was because deadlines kept moving or the asks kept changing. Before I knew it, it would be 5pm, and my entire schedule would be thrown off. I would have to remind myself that it wasn’t something I could control. But yet, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by my to-do list!
A lot of advice around what to do when feeling overwhelmed is based around trying to avoid the feeling of overwhelm. While, that definitely has its place, what can you do when you feel overwhelmed in the moment?
When you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, or by your to-do list, your productivity takes a hit. I used to keep a sticky note of some of these on my desk to remind myself of things that I could do, when I was feeling overwhelmed.
THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU’RE FEELING OVERWHELMED
Here are ten things that would help me, everything time I felt overwhelmed by my to-do list
#1: Take a deep breath, drink a glass of water.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Or drink a glass of water.
This will really help you step away from the moment, and out of those raw emotions of overwhelm!
#2: Go for a walk
Sometimes, a change in surroundings is all I’d need. I’d use any excuse to grab a cup of coffee outside the office, and take a quick walk around the block. The fresh air was refreshing, and helped me clear my head.
#3: Brain Dump
This is my favorite technique to help reduce overwhelm. Write down every single thing that’s make you feel overwhelmed and out of control! Sometimes, I have lots of ideas floating around in my head, and can’t keep track of what I need to actually get done!
In those moments, I recommend you write down all the things that are nagging at you, no matter how small, and from any aspects of your life.
#4: Differentiate between what you can and what you cannot control
The brain dump exercise would help me determine what I could and could not control on a given day. It helped me put into perspective what was really nagging at me.
Some days, it was a phone call that I didn’t want to make (as an introvert, the phone is my enemy), other days it was the team meeting that I knew was going to take over my entire afternoon.
I would advise you to look at your list, and if there’s something you can do, like send a follow up email, or assign it to someone else, that’s something that is in your control. Otherwise, it has no place in your mind!
#5: Evaluate your to-do list
I’m one of those people who LOVES to write to-do lists. I start each morning with a to-do list, numbered in priority of what I need to get done. What doesn’t get done today, will get pushed to tomorrow’s to-do list.
These daily to-do lists helped me get back on track by:
- prioritizing things that HAVE to get done today
- giving me insight into what keeps getting pushed day after day.
Often, I find that my to-do list makes everything a priority, making me feel like there aren’t enough hours in a day. So I started to star/highlight things that HAD to get done in a day – the REAL priorities.
My to-do list also helps me figure out what doesn’t need to get done. There are often things that are nice to have on my list. But if they keep getting pushed, I asked myself, is this adding value, or does it have to be done for compliance? If not, maybe it’s just something that has outgrown my current process, and it is not even a task I need to do!
#6: Delegate what you can
This one can often be tough, especially if you’re like me, and like to have control over the process, and each part in it.
Over time, as I grew in my role at my corporate job, I thankfully had a team that could take on tasks that I didn’t have the capacity for, or those that I knew were not my strengths.
If you have a team, this is easier, but if you don’t, you might have co-workers who have capacity, or if you’re in business, maybe you can hire a virtual assistant or contract out tasks that take up a lot of your time and energy.
#7: Celebrate your wins
Every week, I like to reflect on my week, and write down my wins in my bullet journal!
When I feel like a failure, or overwhelm, I look over this list to get perspective on the things that I have accomplished, and those that made me feel good. This also helped me feel confident in my ability to conquer my to-do list!
#8: Call a friend when you’re feeling overwhelmed
Talking it over with a friend, coworker or partner can give you a new perspective on what you’re feeling. Venting can be a great release in the short term, or they may even be able to offer a solution to your problem!
#9: Take a nap
This might seem like unconventional advice, but I used to do this while I was in my Master’s program.
I used to study at odd hours in the night and then go to class in the morning. This meant that I wasn’t sleeping enough, and would consume copious amounts of caffeine to make up for it. After my classes, I would feel tired, but my mind would be racing with all the things I needed to get done.
Taking a nap helped me gather my thoughts, and slow down just enough to re-gain control.
If you’re some one who is productive at odd hours of the day, this one might be for you!
#10: Do something you love
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with work, step away, take a break. Do something you love. Do something that helps you take your mind off things. I’m quite partial to baking a batch of my favorite cookies (recipe from my personal blog), or I try to practice a new skill like lettering, often with my favorite show (aka Friends reruns) in the background.
Your Turn!
It is of course important to figure out what is causing the overwhelm and find ways to avoid it the next time. But life happens, and we need to all have coping mechanisms that work for us.
Have you used any of these techniques before? If so, let me know how they worked out!
Cheers,
