Issue 89: Overcoming Overwhelm
THE LEAP
BY QUANTUM ORANGE
GROW, EXPAND & EVOLVE
ISSUE 89 | OVERCOMING OVERWHELM
Each week The (Quantum) Leap summarises a key aspect of success into what you need to Think, Feel and Do to create a personal shift.
You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.
~ Timber Hawkeye
THINK
For most people, the automatic response to an ever-growing list of responsibilities is to simply work harder. But that is not a sustainable solution.
The impact of perpetual overwhelm ranges from forgetfulness and confusion, to difficulty concentrating or thinking logically, to a racing mind, impaired problem solving ability, distraction and even cognitive fatigue.
Any one of those would contribute to the overwhelm problem, but if we come up against a few of them, our effectiveness plummets.
A far better solution is to take a step back and examine our lives and the way we’re operating. Begin by answering the following reflection questions…
- What do you actually need on a day-to-day basis? (Think about this in terms of larger goals and priorities so you are making decisions with real purpose - self-care, connection with family, large life goals and values etc)
- How do you generally respond to feeling overwhelmed?
Is that constructive or unhelpful? - Do you know anyone who responds to overwhelming circumstances in a way you admire?
- What do they do and how could you try something similar?
- What are the major sources of stress and overwhelm in your life?
- If you trace back over the last few years, are there any areas consistently causing overwhelm?
- Why might that be? Is there something you need to take a closer look at there?
- Are there one or two things, that if taken off your plate, would reduce more than half of the stress and overwhelm in your life?
- Is that practically possible? How?
- If not, how could you reduce their impact on you?
Next, using the insights from answering the questions above, put boundaries in place that will support your health and wellbeing. Set certain hours for particular tasks, delegate where you can, and challenge any perfectionistic tendencies.
Always put the things that contribute to living your values and achieving your long term goals first. If you do, on the days you can’t get through your enormous to do list, you’ll still feel positive about the way you’ve used your time, which will in turn reduce overwhelm.
Humans are complicated, emotional creatures and it’s not uncommon for one area of our lives to impact on another. When we’re busy and overwhelmed, we rarely have enough space to make that observation, get some perspective and adjust what we need to.
For example, Wendy feels stressed out at work, when in reality her workload hasn’t changed recently. So why does she feel overwhelmed in her job when she didn’t last week?
Perhaps she feels pressure to perform well because a friend was unkind about her job last week, or her mother compared her career success to her sister’s. Whatever the circumstances, it’s possible Wendy is experiencing an emotional overload in another area of her life that she hasn’t been able to deal with properly.
Her brain has taken that stressor and turned it into overwhelm about an entirely different thing - so there’s Wendy having trouble at work when nothing actually caused difficulty in that area.
Pick an area of your life you’ve been feeling overwhelmed and ask yourself the following reflection questions:
- What other experience, situation or area of my life might be affecting my perspective on this?
- What emotions are present?
- Why are those feelings creating overwhelm?
- What will create an emotional shift for me?
- What is another perspective I could take?
- Take the time to explore the answers and then address the areas you need to.
DO
Successfully preventing overwhelm boils down to a few key skills anyone can implement…
1: Saying No
Your ability (and willingness!) to say no to others and yes to yourself has a huge impact. Setting clear boundaries will give you the space you need to maintain your personal care routines and keep yourself in great shape so you can deliver your best in the areas where you do choose to say yes! People may be disappointed, but if they care about you, they’ll understand.
What’s on your to do list that shouldn’t be?
2: Keeping Perspective
It’s very easy to quickly spin into overwhelm if you let your thoughts run rampant without questioning them. Is it really true your boss doesn’t like you - or is he perhaps trusting you with that big deadline because he thinks you can deliver? Is this week truly going to be more than you can handle - or can you protect yourself by reprioritising your tasks and moving some things to next week? The next time you’re feeling some pressure, take a step back, take a deep breath and question the narrative you’re running!
3: Putting What Matters First
It sounds simple, but this one is vital. Start with the things that matter to you most - not the tasks that are urgent but ultimately, unimportant. (See Think section above).
4: Take A Break
Taking a break when you’re busy and overwhelmed may seem counterintuitive, but it’s often necessary. Grab 15-20 minutes to yourself and use it to decompress. The best thing you can do in this time is get outside, breathe deeply and simply be. This type of small break provides the opportunity to let some stress go while gaining clarity and perspective. When you return to the tasks at hand, you’ll notice the mental space created by the break allows you to be far more effective.
