How to manage overwhelm.....
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed it actually stops you from being productive?
That's a little bit how I'm feeling at the moment. What with starting my new role as a Success Coach, finishing up my last few shifts in my 9-5 job (although in my case 0830am-5.30pm), managing childcare for Mia my 1-year old, and keeping up with all my online biz stuff (emails, blogs, FB posts and vids) I must admit, it's getting a bit much sometimes.
So what's the best way to manage feeling overwhelmed, and get yourself out of it so you can start being productive again?
1) Top of the list, ACCEPT HOW YOU'RE FEELING. Acknowledging how you feel is the first step on the road to managing overwhelm. Everybody feels overwhelmed at times and it's a perfectly normal feeling. Acknowledging and accepting it help to stop it overtaking you.
2) CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS. Once you've accepted that it's getting too much, stop telling yourself it's getting too much! Stress-related thoughts just make things worse and increase feelings of being out of control, stress and anxiety.
Start telling yourself that you can manage this, you just need to take it one step at a time, and that you'll get there. These kinds of thoughts help you take control.
3) DON'T TRY TO MULTITASK. Multi-tasking immediately implies that you have A LOT to do so DON'T try to do it; you'll end up getting nowhere very quickly!
Write yourself a To Do List and prioritise what's on the list. Then start working your way through the list, one thing at a time. Make sure you completely finish one task before you move onto the next.
4) FOCUS ON THE HERE AND NOW. Thinking about what's going to happen in the hours, days, weeks and months to come just feeds into overhwhelm. Focus on what's going on right now, but buiild in time to think about and plan for the future.
5) BREATHE! - Take a bit of time to breathe deeply to trigger your body's relaxation response. If you're prone to overwhelm it might be worthwhile learning some relaxation technques such as progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery or triggering to help you cope better.
6) TAKE TIME OUT - Take some time away to enjoy yourself. You'll find that stepping away from what's causing you to feel overwhelmed and forgetting aboiut it for a while will reduce your stress levels immensely. If you feel less stressed you'll be able to take control of your feelings and the things you have to do, and you'll be much more productive.
Finally, be confident that you can deal with the challenge! - YOU'VE SOOOO GOT THIS!
I BELIEVE IN YOU - YOU SHOULD BELIEVE IN YOU TOO.
To start your online biz WITHOUT the overwhelm click here.