I work with a lot of people who are dealing with overwhelm, whether that’s at work — trying to manage incredible pressures and responsibilities, not to mention that never-ending Inbox — or in their personal life — when everything falls apart and you don’t know where to begin to put the pieces back together again.
Overwhelm is defined as being overcome completely in mind or in feeling. It’s a state I’ve had quite a bit of personal experience with, and through experience and my coach training, I’ve learned some great tools to help me and my clients move through it. This blog post will focus on overwhelm in the mind, and I’ll share in another blog post about overwhelm in feeling.
Overwhelm in the Mind
When you are experiencing overwhelm in mind, or in your thoughts, it seems like your thoughts are racing and constantly churning. It may be difficult to sleep, to shut off your brain. When I’m experiencing this, here’s what I do:
1. Make a list of all the things on my “to do’s” – Getting all the things I have to or want to do out of my head and onto a list helps clear my mind because I don’t have to spend time remembering them. I also get satisfaction and a sense of completion when I can cross things off my list.
2. Prioritize – Looking at my list of to-do’s, I choose not only those which are the highest priority, but also those that will give me the highest return. Consider a 2×2 matrix of importance and urgency, which I learned years ago (attributed both to former President Eisenhower and Stephen Covey):
Obviously, the top right, those items which are high in importance and high in urgency are critical. But we tend to choose based on urgency, and often spend our precious resources (time and energy) in that bottom right corner (low importance, high urgency), when it would be better served in the top left (high importance, low urgency).
3. Meditate – It may seem like a waste of time to meditate when you already have lots to do, but I have found if I can take 15-30 minutes to meditate and still the racing thoughts, I end up with so much more clarity and focus that I’m much more productive afterwards.
4. Breathe – I know, it’s an automatic thing that you don’t have to think about, but when you’re in a state of overwhelm, you’re more likely than not going to be breathing very shallowly. The easiest and quickest way to get a little more peace into your body is to take three deep breaths. Relax your belly and breathe deeply and evenly. Do it three times, and your body gets the signal that you’re not in immediate danger. It shifts the chemicals in your body and mind and allows you to then access more of your creative brain.
If you’re experiencing overwhelm in your thoughts, I invite you to try these tips for a quick fix. And if your overwhelm has become a persistent habit that you’d like help shifting, consider scheduling a free 30-minute sample session with me for coaching.