What To Do When You’ve Got Too Much To Do
Practical Strategies to Master Overwhelm
"You can't calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass." ~ Timber Hawkeye
Have you ever found yourself doing work to distract you from the amount of work you have to do?
That's how this post started.
My to-do list seems endless, my inbox is overflowing, and I feel frozen by the sheer volume of tasks ahead.
Sound familiar? If you're nodding along, you're not alone. Feeling overwhelmed is a common experience, especially for those of us overdoers. But there's hope. In this post, I'll share some effective strategies to combat overwhelm so you can get things done and then get on with your life.
Understanding Overwhelm
Before we dive into solutions, it's crucial to understand what overwhelm really is. According to Dr. Emma Seppälä, Science Director of Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, "Overwhelm is a state of emotional and mental exhaustion that leaves us feeling out of control and unable to cope with our daily demands."
If you break it down, it has two basic causes:
(The perception of) Too Much To Do. The never-ending to-do list, that seems to grow faster than you can check things off. Like a bottomless bowl or that Greek myth about the guy endlessly pushing the boulder up the mountain [Google says his name was Sisyphus]. The feeling that there’s so much to do that you don’t know where to start so you don't start at all which, of course, doesn't help because now you're beating yourself up that you're not doing more and being more productive.
Being Under-Resourced. One of the last times this happened to me was 6pm on a Tuesday and I was nearly in tears drowning in Things I Should Be Doing. Fast forward to 10am on Wednesday morning and it turns out that trying to do everything on your to-do list in the evening after a long day delivering training before going on stage for an event is not the best time for getting stuff done. Who’d have thunk. Surprise, surprise, after a good-night's sleep and some food (yep, I hadn’t eaten the night before), it’s no surprise that I feel much better about life.
6 Strategies for Managing Overwhelm
1. Get the basics sorted
I forget to eat when I’m busy. Not only that, but I am continually amazed at how much better I feel once I’ve had something to eat. Maybe you don’t drink enough or don’t get enough sleep. Not looking after these basic building blocks of your health and wellbeing is a sure-fire way to feel overwhelmed and unable to cope. Make sure you’re fed, watered and rested…you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel. Or maybe that’s just me.
2. Have a nap or go for a walk
Don’t just sit there feeling terrible. You won’t just snap out of it and start getting stuff done. You need to stop and reset before you try to tackle things again.
3. Break big tasks down into small steps
I often find that I’m putting a task off because I think it will be really hard or I’m not sure how to do it. Breaking it into smaller pieces makes it much easier to face. There are always a few bits of it that I know I can do easily and make some progress on. My mum always asks me “how do you eat an elephant?”, and of course, the answer is one bite at a time.
4. Prioritise
What do I actually need to do right now? What can wait for another time when I’m feeling more focused? Where’s a good place to start? Will clearing the inbox clear my mind, or will I just spend time feeling productive but not tackling the things that will make a difference? Why is this on my list in the first place?
5. Plan time for fun or relaxation
I often notice that I feel overwhelmed in the middle of several days with lots going on. If I can, I’ll see if I can squeeze something fun or relaxing in. But I find even just planning something for the weekend or next week can help me see the light at the end of the tunnel; knowing that I have a break coming up can be enough.
6. Just do it (as Nike would say).
Easier said than done for the perfectionists in the room. There are times when I won’t even have started a task because I’m worried about it not being perfect (hello, procrastinating perfectionism). But the thing is, it's never perfect. If I could collect up all the time and energy I’ve wasted worrying about how to do something or how to make it perfect rather than actually doing it, I would have all the time and energy I’ll ever need. So, time for a cliche (and they’re cliches because they’re true): done is better than perfect. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Sometimes, you’ve just got to get over it and do something.
Please remember that this is a practice, not a performance. It’s okay to trip up. You learn from getting it wrong, just as much as you learn from getting it right (if not more).
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