Feeling overwhelmed is pretty common in today’s society. Managing overwhelm is a key component for working through challenges and living a happier life.
The feeling of being overwhelmed is more than just trying to figure out how to juggle a bunch of stuff at once. Overwhelm is about learning to manage life and everything it throws at us.
Here are 5 simple ways to stop feeling overwhelmed
It all starts by asking yourself one simple question…
1 – Assess What You Can Do Right Now
Sometimes stepping out of the place where you are feeling overwhelmed and trying to put things in perspective is all that is needed to help get you back to a centered place. By asking yourself what you can do right now, you are evaluating the situation and what actions you can take.
Asking yourself, “what can I do right now?” helps:
- Provide a here and now awareness being in the present moment.
- Slow down of the mind and body
- Suspend judgment of the situation
Once you start putting a plan in place with the simplest of first steps, your mind and body can relax, focus and get to work on solving the issue at hand.
2 – Value Your Time
The lack of clarity about what is important in our lives is one of the main reasons why people end up feeling overwhelmed. Establishing clarity can be one of the most impactful solutions to overwhelm.
Setting boundaries around the use of your time is key. Protect your family time and work time equally. They may not always be equal to the amount of hours allocated, but they should be equal in how fervently you protect them. Start scheduling blocks of time on your calendar and establish some rules around that time.
Family time might mean you won’t check emails, Facebook or texts. Work time might mean not calling home to chit chat with your significant other, or it might mean putting rules on your todo list that supports your big goals. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing deserves your attention. By focusing on the now, you are avoiding overloading your brain.
3 – Learn to Say No
It’s often hard to say no because, as humans, our natural tendency is to please others. There is a lot of talk about the word “no” and learning to say it. It takes many people well into adulthood to get comfortable saying it. But once they do, their world is changed for the better.
The first step to saying no is to stop saying yes. That might seem obvious but what needs to happen is for you to take time when you asked for something. Stop the automatic yes and allow for the opportunity to say no.
Give”no” a try. It is a sure way to help you manage life and end the feeling of overwhelm. Start slowly at first, and you will soon realize that the only pressure to say yes comes from you.
4 – Ask for Help
It is often our limited thinking that prevents us from asking for help when surrounded by people willing and available to accommodate us.
It can be hard to ask for help because no one wants to impose on others. It’s easy to pretend we have it all together and can do it all by ourselves. But why would we want to?
Look at it from the other side of the coin, You probably can’t wait to help others. Helping others is a natural positivity tonic. Since helping others makes you feel good, why not let someone else feel good by helping you?
5 – Brain Dump
Our brains are not designed to be storage units, yet we use it as such by carrying our todo lists in our heads.
The problem with this is we keep adding to this list but rarely take anything off, so our brain becomes … you guessed it, overwhelmed.
Focus on alleviating some of the pressure we put on our brains by getting things out of your head and down on paper or some digital note-taking device. Your to-do list is better served when in a safe place.
The process of getting things out of your brain and onto paper is commonly known as brain dumping. You are doing exactly what it says, clearing your mind by dumping your ideas, thoughts, and tasks somewhere where you can reference in the future. Doing this releases the pressure on your brain to remember. Writing down everything means everything. Dump it all. Seeing what’s on your mind as individual tasks and not as one big list, makes everything seem much more manageable and achievable.
Becoming overwhelmed is something we create when we allow ourselves to take on too much responsibility. Doing things to manage what is on our plate will help manage it and make us happier in the end.
What ways do you manage your mind from feeling overwhelmed? Share in the discussion below! We would also love to invite you to follow our Facebook group.
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