Do you feel stuck right now? Are you lost looking for a place to start?
I’ve been there.
I’m someone who loves lists. I start every day with a to-do list. Checking things off the list brings me joy.
Until it didn’t. I noticed that my to-do list was getting longer and longer every day. I didn’t have the mental capacity to complete even ONE task. Then I noticed how drained I was even at the start of the day. I didn’t have the energy nor the enthusiasm I once had.
When I decided that enough was enough, and I needed to DO something about the overwhelm, I did this:
- Take a deep breath in and slowly breathe out.
- Close eyes. Focus on breathing for 10 seconds.
- Look for the easiest thing to do on the to-do list. (It should ideally be something easy and can be done within 2 minutes)
- Set a timer for 120 seconds
- Do the task
Why this helped me:
- I actually completed a task
- Checking it off the list gave me joy and confidence that I COULD do what I needed to do
- It built momentum for other tasks
I gradually increased the amount of time to be spent on tasks until all of them were done. I use this strategy even now, whenever I feel like I can’t get anything done.
Try it the next time you feel overwhelmed, and let me know how it goes.
