“Do you find yourself struggling to get out of bed each day when thinking of EVERYTHING that needs to be done?

 

You’ve no energy, you’re stressed, fighting with your partner and kids, you’re not eating well, in fact you can’t even remember the last time you took time out of your day and did something for yourself.

 

The thought of switching off, running away and hiding seems like absolute bliss!

 

You’ve got to keep going because there’s so much to do and no one else can help. No one can do it except for you. Then one day you stop, look around and think how on earth did I get to this point?

 

How did I end up here? I’M SWAMPED!

 

1. Does this Task Align to What’s Important to Me?

 

One of the simple ways that we can end up in this place is when we over commit ourselves. 

 

When we always say YES to people, instead of NO. Do you find it hard to say no?

 

One of the reasons we don’t say no is because we think other people expect something from us or we feel we ‘should’ be doing something.

 

We compare ourselves to others and we think of all the things we need to do.

 

Learning how to say NO is a very powerful tool. It is a form of self respect.

 

How do you actually value yourself and your time?

 

We only have a limited amount of time each day and more importantly in our lives. 

 

When we fill it up with things that aren’t important to us, we lose that time forever!

 

Working out what is important to you can be the first step in stopping overwhelm.

 

When you find clarity over what tasks are in alignment with what’s important to you, you can drop the things that aren’t in alignment.

The things that are no longer need to be done.

 

When you say NO it signifies you have worked out what is important, what your values are and what are your beliefs.

 

2. Create a List and Prioritise

Quote by Lao Tzu – Chinese philosopher

 

Another technique we can look at when getting out of overwhelm is sometimes, when we think of everything we need to get done, the whole journey can seem overwhelming.

 

So a really quick and easy tool to reduce mental overwhelm is to grab pen and paper and dump everything out of your head and onto the paper.

 

You might want to break it down into categories such as; work, family; home, personal. And just write in these columns absolutely everything you have to do, need to do and want to do. Don’t get caught up too much in the tasks and breaking it down into steps, just high level of what it is that needs to get done.

 

Not everything on your list is created equal.

 

Now we need to prioritise this list. Rank everything in each of the categories with a number. This tells us which of these things absolutely has to be done that day

….what are the things that can wait a day or two

…………and what are the things you can do next week.

 

Now focus on only the top 2 or 3 items in either, each category or across the whole board that need to be done THAT day.

 

Look at your list, are there things on the list that others can help you with?

 

What are the things you absolutely have to do yourself and what are other things you can delegate?

 

Can you get your partner or your kids to help out? Or even other colleagues at work to help with some things on your list?

 

3. Connect to Nature

 

Another thing you can do to stop overwhelm instantly is go outside and connect to nature in some way.

 

Of course you can always hug a tree which is a nice way of connecting to nature but not always possible!

Get out there and start walking, down the street, there’s always trees, even in the city.

Connect in with them, really feel their energy. If you can get onto grass, take off your shoes, walk around in bare feet, really connect to Mother Earth and allow her to help bring you out of your head and back into your body, back into the present moment.

 

So with overwhelm, you’ve got three tasks there to help clear your mind, get you back out of your head and into your body, and into the present moment and just to step back and see what is important for you. What is it you absolutely need to get done.”

 

I’d love to hear what techniques you use to clear overwhelm! Please share in the comments below….