In our weekly series, we offer a little inspiration to kick off your week.
Some simple wisdom, elegant and accessible. From one soul to another.
We hope it helps you ease into your Monday.
xo

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The Tale of Overwhelm

“It always seems impossible, until it’s done.”
~Nelson Mandela

You look over to your desk and you see a sky-high pile of bills + client folders + magazines + wedding invites + letters, all vying for your attention. You glance at your computer screen and you see 15 different tabs open in Chrome, all with important “must-do” tasks related to work, career and life. Then there’s the pressing issue of spending more QT with your honey, getting enough alone time in and practicing self-care by eating well, exercising, taking your supplements and vitamins, making that acupuncture appointment and booking those tickets to your best friend’s wedding in Canada. All of that — and the day just started!

Overwhelm.

You’re familiar with it. I’m familiar with it. We ALL experience it and yet rarely do we find a way to cure it. It’s one of the big woes that plague creative entrepreneurs, business owners, freelancers and the modern day career-driven folk of the world. It doesn’t matter where you live, what your skin color is or how much money is in your bank account — overwhelm knows no limitations and it will find you.

Personally, I fall into a deep hole of depression if I let overwhelm take the wheel. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that it happens more often that I’d like. It goes something like this . . .

• I wake up on Monday morning. A fresh 8 hours of sleep under my belt. Ready to take on the world. And then I open up my email. D’oh (palm to the forehead), I realize I forgot to send something off to my web designer over the weekend.
• I jump out of bed, run to the computer and gather the deliverables to email off. And while I’m in my inbox I might as well check things out and see what else came in overnight . . . (cue theme song as I enter the black hole known as my inbox)
• An hour or so later, I snap out of my inbox trance, still bleary eyed and half-awake and go make myself some hot water with lemon and a smoothie (self-care . . . CHECK!)
• Then I plop down on the sofa, grab my iPad and check Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (back into the vortez I go . . . weeeeeeeee . . .)
• Another hour goes by and I realize I’ve been sucked in yet again and I start to feel bad about myself, so I grab my workout clothes and do a home HIIT routine that leaves me sweaty and feeling productive and strong (girl power . . . CHECK!)
• I shower, get dressed and sit down to my computer to work, only the phone rings and I take the call. 45 minutes later I wrap up with my friend and sit down to look at my schedule for the day. Only, I have no schedule because I forgot to plan my week ahead of time. That’s ok, I’ll improvise!
• I write a blog post, schedule a handful more posts for next week and then it’s time for lunch. Oopsy, no food in the fridge. I hop in the car and grab a salad from a nearby cafe.
• Back at home (1.5 hours later – hello L.A. traffic), I sit down to finally get to the important stuff — marketing tasks, planning my upcoming workshops, but to be honest I’m spent. My brain is fried and so I take a look at my inbox (AGAIN) and find a few interesting posts to read (from other business owners and bloggers) and thus begins my descent into multi-tab browsing, which basically ends in “Oh it’s time to get dinner started” and “Great! I did like . . . NOTHING today”.
• I start to prep dinner, feeling like shit about myself and how much I didn’t get done. Overwhelm sinks in when I realize how “far behind” I am, how much I have to do and so I numb out with some chips and an old episode of GLEE.

As much as I’d like to say that all of the above isn’t based on a true story . . . it is. I can’t count the number of days that have been lost to some version of the scenario above. The particulars might be different for you, but there’s one common thread — and that’s the feeling of panic and overwhelm at what we want to accomplish in a single day/week/month/year/lifetime.

I tend to look at the big picture — I see huge visions, giant launches, large scale products and events and pie in the sky dreams. And so when it comes to putting those gargantuan ideas onto paper, it can feel a tad overwhelming to say the least. Even if you’re good with breaking things into tinier steps, the sheer volume of what needs to be done can feel cumbersome.

How to cope? Here are a few ways that help me when I’m feeling overwhelmed (keep in mind, I’m still a work-in-progress):

DUMP IT ALL
Part of the reason we get overwhelmed is that we don’t know EXACTLY what we should be doing in any given moment. If you haven’t done a mind/brain dump recently, now’s the time. I do these once a month or more often if I’m feeling really out of sorts.

Grab a few sheets of paper or open a new note in Evernote and set a timer for up to 60 minutes.
Keep writing until the timer goes off. Don’t stop. List anything and everything you can think of: appointments that need to be made, errands that need to be run, people to see/contact, birthdays, gifts to buy, plans to make, dinners to schedule, tasks to do, books to read, bloggers to contact — you name it, write it down.

Getting all of this stuff out of your head and onto the page is the first step in unloading and giving yourself a bit more peace of mind. It’s no wonder we feel overwhelmed, most of us are walking around with libraries of information stored in our head that we “don’t want to forget” and it takes up valuable space. Dump it out. Unload. You will instantly feel lighter!

THINK BIG, FOCUS SMALL
Dream big (bigger than big). But when it comes to getting it done, focus small (teeny tiny small). What do I mean? Have a place where you capture all of your big ideas and dreams (for work I use a spreadsheet and for personal I use Evernote as well as my Travelers Notebook). Anytime you have a big thought or idea, jot it down. Some of your big ideas might have come about from your recent mind/brain dump. If so, add them to this “Big Ideas” list. Make sure you have this list handy at all times.

Once you’ve made the list (assuming that everything on the list is something you love and can’t wait to complete), you’ll want to break each big idea down into micro-steps. Yes, this is a shit-ton of work. But take the time to do it. Use another tab on your spreadsheet and break each idea down into tasks. For instance if your big dream is to write a book, then what are the steps you need to take to have your book written? Maybe you need to invest in a new piece of software or schedule time in your calendar or join a writer’s group or find a coffee shop where you can work. List every single step that is going to get you to your goal.

This list will grow and be added to over time (just like your big ideas list). Consider these working documents and treat them like GOLD!

P.S. You’ll look at this massive list of micro-steps and it will induce overwhelm. Don’t go there. You also might want to do ALL of these mirco-steps at once. Don’t go there. Pick 3 items from this list per day to focus on. Yep, that’s it, just 3. Complete those and if you have time for more – great! Add as needed. Just don’t go into your day expecting to complete 20 items. It’s a recipe for disaster.

BE A GIRL SCOUT: PLAN AHEAD
Don’t wait until Monday morning to plan your week – instead, set aside 30 minutes on Friday (of the week prior) to plan out the upcoming week. Do everything from schedule appointments and work-time in your calendar, to mapping out what micro-tasks you need to focus on to move your projects and big ideas forward. Planning ahead 100% will cure your overwhelm and fear that you’re not getting things done. Trust me. It works.

GET ORGANIZED
If your desk is a disaster, your bedroom has laundry strewn about or your kitchen sink is filled with dishes — you’re going to feel scattered and overwhelmed. Your surroundings (especially if you work from home, even part-time) contribute in a big way to your state of mind. Take the time to put things away after you use them. Fold your laundry and put it away. Go through your mail and recycle what isn’t needed.

Find containers and storage for random papers that are lying around. If you’ve ever done a deep clean of your home, you know how amazing it feels afterwards. Shiny. Sparkly. Brand new. It feels GOOD. Make sure you do that regularly (or hire someone to help if needed). It will take a huge weight off and help clear your mind so you can focus.

(RE)COMMITT
Do you remember why you wanted to achieve that big idea to begin with? Do you know why you’re doing what you’re doing in your business or life? If not, it’s time to take a breather to revisit your why. Knowing WHY you’re committed to the work you do, the people you serve, the families you help or the art you create — is the first step in committing to it wholeheartedly.

Once you remember why you’re doing what you’re doing, make an out-loud declaration (preferably to another person, or even to your online fans — accountability works) that you are going to recommit to your dream. From the deepest part of your gut, you are going to give this dream everything you’ve got. Because it matters to you. And it matters to the world.

If a dream doesn’t particularly light you up anymore, you have my permission to let it go. And find a new one. Only dedicate yourself to the work that feeds you (and in turn, will feed the world).

TAKE A MENTAL HEALTH DAY
And sometimes, what you really, truly need . . .  is a mental health day. Turn off the computer, ditch the phone and cuddle up on the couch with a good magazine, cup of tea and some chocolate. Because really, getting it all done isn’t really the point. The journey is equally (if not more) important than the destination. So you might as well enjoy it!

It’s your turn. Tell me how you banish overwhelm. What steps do you take to keep yourself on track? And if you want, share what you are recommitting to, in the comments below. We’re all in this together!

xo,

Main Photo by Imani Clovis