Last week I had felt overwhelmed.
I had a to do list the size of my arm, with tasks that weren’t only five minutes long. I knew I would have to work hard if I wanted to get them all completed in time. But by the end of day one, I knew I was fighting a losing battle and the next morning I felt overwhelmed. There were items on that list that had to be completed that day and I hadn’t even been able to start them yet.
There had been ‘spanners in the works’ – stuff I hadn’t expected to do and then were other things that I expected to be quick, which ended up being a nightmare. I even had to allocate myself 2 hours off for a coffee break with my friends because I needed to write a blog post and at that stage it was still only a few strung out ideas. Still, it needed to be finished that day because the next day I needed to read my edited book which had unexpectedly arrived early (according to my time frame!) and if I didn’t do that then the next task would fall behind and so on and so on…
Why had I packed so much into this week? Why had I made myself so busy?
Well my husband was away; the kids were at school – It was a ‘perfect week’ to get stuff done.
So, I had a lovely morning chatting to my friends, but when it was time to leave, I felt this (familiar) agitation seep into my mind:
I knew I would have to go back and face the work that was challenging me in terms of time and actualisation. How was I going to get it all done? Where was I going to start?
My happy interlude was over and I began to feel overwhelmed. I blurted this out, just as I was supposed to be heading out of the door.
I had to tell them, so I gushed out my to do list, still wondering how the hell I would get through the week?
Surprisingly, just saying it out loud felt better and speaking to friends: they were bound to give me good advice.
* Make a list – I took my list with key points and broke them down into smaller lists, then I prioritised that list and added lots of details when I got home. A few days later I made a social media calendar. I wrote out all of my ideas into a detailed plan, incorporating all the random notes on my phone. Knowing I had it all in one place helped, knowing I had details, even if only a few lines; even better.
Everything was out of my head and on a page where it belonged!
* Be ready for unexpected spanners and embrace them rather than berate them!
Getting my completed book back to review is a milestone, not another chore.
* Have a time out, change of scene, breath of fresh air and do some exercise –
I went with the good feelings I had experienced with my friends and decided to plan for those times in the week when I would be home alone with the kid’s.
I knew similar feelings, I had experienced that morning, would creep in because I couldn’t work on my list; so instead I planned bike rides, joined beach meet ups and I spent more time with my friends.
* Get up earlier – It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do these tasks, it was because I couldn’t physically find the time that my mind needed to think, feel and express the thoughts in my head.
Mel Robbins advocates the 5 second rule.
How could I get more time? I could wake up earlier and I could use the rule.
Robbins makes a sobering point:
“If you don’t start doing the things you don’t feel like doing, you will wake up one year from today and be in exactly the same place.”
I have heard many authors talk about getting up a couple of hours to work on their writing prior to starting their ‘day jobs’. I still need to start doing this, I am not perfect, but I can recognise the benefits an additional couple of hours can bring.
Braden Thompson, an advocate for better living states:
“Things change pretty quickly when you start doing something.”
This is exactly what I did when I left my friends.
I pushed myself.
I had to write that blog, so I did and because I had taken a break from the four walls of my bedroom, I found I was able to push through and produce something I was happy with.
“At times it might feel like there is nothing you can do, but that is exactly when you need to do something” Thompson encourages.
Lastly, my friends told me it is all about mind set, they gave me a pep talk but I wondered…
Why do these feelings assault us sometimes? What is it that we truly fear? What did I fear at that moment if I didn’t achieve all my tasks in the allotted time?
What was it, that I thought would happen, that made it overwhelming? I didn’t examine my feelings too deeply, knowing I had to continue moving forward.
It was a day, a moment in time, for others it becomes extended periods of time and the solutions are not as quick fix as my limited list.
Is it fear that tells me I couldn’t get it all done? That I wouldn’t be good enough? Perfect enough? That I would be a failure?
Russell Brand (he keeps appearing on my Facebook newsfeed!) shared a thought provoking video about freeing ourselves from those negative thoughts.
After I had survived and completed the majority of my tasks from that week, I felt better, accomplished!
Now I am being proactive – as I am writing the outline for this blog, I am waiting with my kids at the airport for their father to arrive.
They are bored and restless so I have told them to run around the airport for a bit.
If I don’t take advantage of this spare waiting time, those familiar feeling will creep in and it’s the school holidays next week….