Fast Way to Get Out of Overwhelm

Overwhelm is one of my favorite self-sabotage techniques. And I can get there pretty quickly.

It happens most often when I get side-tracked - as I discovered again this morning!

I woke up this morning with a brilliant idea for a product tumbling around in my head. While having coffee I mapped out plans for it, then went back to my office to get started.

About 15 or so minutes into it I wanted to incorporate some ideas I'd written out from a teleclass I'd listened to a few days before... but I couldn't find my notes about it. (Yeah... I know, that organization thing... it needs work too!)

So... I thought I'd just look quickly online to see if I could find something similar....

An hour and a half later, making myself close the web-brower...... I was completely overwhelmed and the drive to get this project done had dissipated.

It didn't seem important now. And actually NOTHING seemed important.

But, luckily, I still had at least some wits about me.... Instead of taking a regroup nap (after all, it was only 7:30 in the morning!)... I decided to take a shower and regroup.

That helped me get some perspective and got me out of the overwhelm mindset/feeling - (it's the old actions-change-feelings "trick").

After the shower I wrote down the answers to this question: "What's most important for moving forward today?" (And yes, writing a blog post was on the list :) - also interestingly, the product idea did not make the "A" list for today.)

What DID make the "A" list were things I'd been putting off that really needed to get done and had deadlines this week. (Okay, yes, I admit.... getting organized was on the "A" list. I've been putting it off a long time.... and now things are getting backlogged because of it.)

So - long story short - the fastest way I know to get out of overwhelm is to do that thing you've been putting off that really needs to be done!

Usually the putting-off-of-it is much more time and effort consuming than the doing-of-it!

AND you feel so relieved and have a much lightened energy about your when it's over.

At least it did for me. :)

How about you?

Here's to continuing the Journey.... getting overwhelmed..... and learning to get out and back on track quickly....

-Becky