Being busy can help keep us in a productive, motivated state. But when we have so much to do that we start to feel overwhelmed, our performance can start to slip.
Think about it –
The more tasks that you’re trying to manage, the more energy you need to expend towards just remembering everything there is to do. And each of those items on your to-do list usually comes with its own set of steps, considerations and related emotions.
When your brain is trying to keep track of all that, it’s not focusing on any one task very well, and you’re stuck playing whack-a-mole, i.e. simply reacting to the next thing in front of you, rather than being intentional about where you’re focusing your time and energy.
The end result is stress, diminished capacity and dissatisfaction over the way you’re spending your time.
One of the simplest, fastest ways to clear your mind and get back into a focused state?
Writing.
When your brain is being pulled in too many directions at once and you have that “I don’t even know where to start” feeling, pause for a moment and take a breath. Then, pull out a piece of paper and pen, and spend 5 minutes getting all of those worries, to-do’s, concerns, feelings, questions and musings out of your head and onto the page.
Once you’ve gotten everything down onto paper, take a look at what you’ve written:
- Cross out the worries that are not actually worth your concern.
- Draw a line through items that are outside of your control.
- Note anything you can delegate to someone else to handle.
- Organize your remaining items however seems useful to you — for example, by order of priority, task size, or due date.
Now that you’ve quieted the noise in your head and created a clear, actionable list, you should feel more clarity and direction on how to move forward.
It sounds simple, but I can tell you — as I’m balancing two separate roles at work and a business on the side these days, overwhelm is popping up for me a lot. I’ve been using this tool frequently to get out of my head and moving in the right direction, and it helps!
Give it a try the next time your head is spinning and you don’t know where to begin, and let me know how it goes!
Need a tool to help you organize all your wellness to-do’s and intentions? Download my Workweek Wellness Planner and simply follow the steps to get your wellness ducks in a row, asap 🙂
