You know that feeling. The “to do” list is enormous. It swirls around in your head. Probably swirling so much that you’re fuzzy-brained, not knowing exactly what to do next.
Your short-term memory goes. You end up doing double the work because you’ve gone back in the house for your keys twice, you’ve forgotten why you went into the other room, you pick up the phone to make a call but suddenly can’t remember who it was that you’re calling.
Our lives are overwhelming.
We’re bombarded with information and actions and we’ve lost our ability to focus.
We run from one thing to the next and at the end of the day we don’t even know what we’ve done that rings of any importance. Our days are full – but with what?
The first step to breaking free of overwhelm is to let go and trust.
When we let go and trust that we’re supported, we’ve taken an important step toward operating from the place that knows what’s best – our intuition.
So, step one. Get quiet.
Let go of thoughts.
Feel your body.
Ask your higher power, God, the universe, whatever… one question: what is my priority today?
Don’t judge what comes up. Just register it. And, go about your day.
Just this one thing will shift the overwhelm.
If you want to go deeper on solving your overwhelm, here’s a few things that I do.
1) I schedule time for deep work.
This is time to focus 100% on what I need to create. This is interruption-free time. I use the Freedom app to stay out of social media. I turn on some good music, get a beverage, set my timer and go. To learn more about Deep Work, check out Cal Newport’s book. It’s life changing.
2) Scrum your life.
Below is a picture of my weekly scrum board. Use a whiteboard or easel and make three columns: To Do, Doing, and Done. Make a post-it for each action at the start of the week and put it in the To Do column. Move it to the Doing and Done column when you make traction on the action. It’s super satisfying to see the post-its in the Done column at the end of the week. Get the kids to help!
3) Start a nightly ritual.
Where you write three successes for the day and three things you’re grateful for. When you go to sleep celebrating, you’ll wake up more energized.
Be epic.
Amy
