I have felt a bit overwhelmed this week. I’ve been busy launching and creating my new mini programme, One Small Thing, tackling (or trying to tackle) the household jobs like endless laundry (WHY do teenagers need so many hoodies? That they seem to only wear once?), trying to help my husband plan how he’s going to celebrate his TWENTY YEAR business anniversary (I know, mega!) with ideas for his social content, supporting friends, worrying about friends, onboarding two new clients (yay!) and making sure everyone eats well and has what they need. Phew.
When overwhelm creeps in for me, it can quickly take over, my mind buzzes, my body feels heavy and restless at the same time, and I find myself doing that slightly panicked scrolling through emails or tasks, making lists but not really starting anything, just circling. Staring into space.
I used to think the answer was to… give myself a hard time basically! To push harder. To tell myself to toughen up and just get on with the bloody thing.
But over time I’ve realised the first thing I actually need is space and time out, no matter how busy I feel. To step away from my (messy!) desk, go for a walk in the woods (so grateful to live near a wood!), or take myself further afield, maybe on a little solo trip into town or to the coast.
What I need at this point is something that gets me away from my home working life, that clears the noise in my head and from being online too much (so many opinions and ideas!) and which reminds me of who I am outside the lists, the work and the responsibilities. And if it piques my creativity or fills my inspiration cup, all the better! Occasionally this is a whole day, mainly I am talking just getting away for 1-3 hours. Sometimes just 30 minutes if that’s all that feels possible. A quick walk with your favourite tunes in your AirPods can work wonders!
Then, when I’m feeling less overwhelmed, I sit down with a notebook and do a brain dump. Everything goes on the page: the jobs, the worries, the random things rattling around. The simple act of writing it all down makes me feel like I’m carrying less. I make myself a nice drink to enjoy whilst I do this. Maybe even a biccie too…
I can then look at what I have written and put some of the things on to do lists, see what I can delegate or drop and think about how I can deal with some worries. Just writing worries and frustrations down can help.
After that, I know I will feel better if I do something productive, so I pick a task that either feels really valuable, or that will make me feel better to get done and I do it. Something that can be done in a short space of time, ideally within one Pomodoro session.
if you don’t already know, the Pomodoro technique uses repeated 25 minutes of focused undistracted work, then you stop for 5 mins, have a break. Rinse and repeat for up to five sessions then take a longer break. I was introduced to this probably ten years ago now and it’s like magic for clearing my procrastinating tendencies!
Knowing I only have to keep going for that short window of 25 minutes (cleverly not even half an hour) takes the pressure off, and more often than not, I find myself moving again and doing more than I intended to. (I also pair Pomodoro with THIS as it really helps me focus).
So! These are three small ways I get myself unstuck. They’re not big things, but they work, for me, and possibly for you?
And maybe that’s the point, because I have always believed that it’s the small, simple steps that make the difference.