OVERWHELM!  That bad boy is so so heavy.  Even saying the word out loud feels heavy but it’s a ridiculously common condition.  

Overwhelm can creep up from behind and it can bite you square on the ass, resulting in paralysis.  You simply can’t see the way forward.  Overwhelm also leads to a whole list of other overs ~ overthinking, over-analysising, overcomplicating and oversight.  It’s a bugger, it is! 

I’m sure you know that! I’m sure you feel it’s stickiness and stuck if you’re reading this article. 

I want you to know that whilst OVERWHELM is a choice it’s also a tricky little customer.  I know that people roll their eyes when I say overwhelm is a choice BUT hear me out.  What I really mean is that staying in overwhelm is a choice.  It blind sides us as it sneaks up BUT there’s stacks of ways to deal with the tricky little beast. 

Before we go any further….

➡️ There’ll always be a shit tonne to do! Your to do list will be bottomless BUT that’s a good thing! Having an ever growing and evolving to do list means that you have an ever growing and evolving life, which is ace.  If you were to ever get to the bottom of your to do list it would mean that you have stagnated and stagnant is smelly 🙊

➡️  You can’t mess up! Here’s the thing, you might decide on one thing to focus on right now, you’re decision might be EPIC or you might wanna rethink your decision and focus on something else – either way it’s totally ok! 

➡️ You are not behind! When one of my wonderful clients tells me that they are behind I ask “behind what?” What exactly is this thing you’re behind?  It’s often simply self expectation. 

➡️ Sometimes shit happens and timescales need to change. 

➡️ It’s not always necessary to do all the things! Sometimes you will do all the things ✔️ and sometimes you will need to compromise and pop down some of the things. 

➡️  Your progress IS NOT milk and won’t go off if all of it or bits of it are popped on the side for a little while! 

1️⃣  Brain Dump! Get everything out of your head.  Everything you’re worried of forgetting, everything that needs doing – work & personal, get everything out.  The things is that when it’s all inside your head it’s taking up far too much bandwidth.  You’re hard-drive will be full and processing time will increase.  Basically, it’s sucking you energetically to keep it all inside your head. 

2️⃣ Is there anything on that list that ACTUALLY DOESN’T NEED DOING?  We sometimes have things on our list that are simply there because we’ve always done them and in reality they don’t actually need doing, they aren’t necessary or right now you don’t have capacity for them.  If you want to keep them pop them on a “I’ll get round to reconsidering these” list. 

3️⃣  Is there anything on the list that someone else could be doing for you? I know, you probably don’t ask for help! You’re probably saying “I do it & I do it all by myself” like a toddler.  Now, that is by no means patronising, I am here, as I type this, raising my hand as it’s my default position and have to continually snap myself out of it! 

4️⃣  Is there stuff on the list that’s a regular activity?  If so, schedule regular time in your diary for it, a recurring appointment is a good idea.  I find that when I set time aside for things they get done 😱😂 Time never makes itself, we have to make time. 

5️⃣  Is their stuff that’s urgent?  Crack the fuck on with that (but do make sure it’s truly urgent and you’re not telling yourself a story about it). 

6️⃣  Take 3 things off the list, the ones that you fancy doing, and crack on with them.  ACTION CREATES MOMENTUM.   Whilst you’re working on those three things pop the rest of your list away, close the notebook, pop it in a drawer, it’s safe, you no longer need to fret about it! 

The Flexible Working Pack AND The Productivity Bible are available for FREE in The Vault…….