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Hi Team,

My calm happy place is listening to a podcast whilst driving my ride on mower. So, it is quite ironic that last week I was listening to a podcast about Dealing with Overwhelm (by international business coach Mathew Kimberly) whilst on my ride on mower! Anyway, the main message of this podcast was that the feeling of overwhelm ("having a dozen things you need to do and not knowing what to do first") is the precursor to stress. If you don't recognise and successfully manage "I'm feeling a little overwhelmed" you allow stress to build up and take over your day.

The following quote by Michael Port helped me to understand the true nature of being overwhelmed, 
"Overwhelm is not a result of having too much to do, it's a result of not knowing what to do next."

Unfortunately we all feel overwhelmed at times, it is just part of today's life. Being self-employed and the sole owner of a small business, I know this feeling all too well. Making decisions can be overwhelming and can cause procrastination and fear. However, I now know that being aware of this feeling of overwhelm and understanding what triggers this emotion, has been a big help to my productivity and my mental health. A very interesting and useful question, raised by Mathew Kimberly, that we should all ask ourselves is, "What is your most enjoyable five minutes each day and how could you lengthen it to 10 minutes each day?" The answer to this question could help you to deal with the feeling of overwhelm during the day.

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a while, including you." Unknown

If unattended, overwhelm naturally builds up and has a snowball effect over time. If you don't know how to proactively manage this emotion it just gets worse and worse. The key to dealing with overwhelm is knowing how to cope with the feeling and knowing what to do next. Mathew Kimberly put forward a "tool kit" of strategies to break the overwhelm cycle as follows.

1. Give your day structure by developing good habits that help keep you focussed and on task. For me, my daily diary is my secret weapon to avoid overwhelm. Also, managing my email inbox 3 times per day and replying to all important emails within 24 hours, greatly helps my productivity.
2. Create a calm environment for yourself at work. This means keeping your desk or workspace orderly and tidy (a messy desk reflects a messy mind).
3. Take a proper lunch break each day and preferably have lunch with other people. Also, take regular breaks during the day to interact with others.
4. Try not to react to negativity. Try to think positively by looking forward rather than worrying about the past or focusing on what might have been.
5. Believe in yourself and be grateful for all the good things in your life. Remember that anxiety comes from your need to control everything, so don't stress about things you cannot control.
6. Break tasks down into small actionable parts and don't be afraid to delegate some of these tasks to others. Taking small steps forward by starting work on a task quickly reduces the sense of overwhelm.

"Remember your family won't thank you for staying up all night and overthinking for them!"

Thanks for reading,
Stay safe and avoid the-overwhelm.
David