To do list -deal with overwhelm.
Your nervous system is your responsibility
Life can be a lot. Business, family, your workout routine, eating healthy, social time, the list goes on. Every now and then, the feeling of overwhelm hits.
Here’s what I find helpful:
1- Start with saying no.
Remember, everytime you say no to someone else, you are saying yes to you.
2 - Clarify. Structure. Make sense of it all.
Your mind is running on overtime and the list of to do’s is never ending. Time to create order. What’s going on? What is a priority and what can wait? What helps you feel better and what keeps you in this place of overwhelm?
3 - Make a small step by step plan
Go wild if you want to with a big plan, but for me at these moments: small is the way to go.
Write down what the top 4 or 5 priorities are. Write everything else down on 1 big list. You’ve guessed it: you’ll get to them later. Work out your 4-5 prio’s, and get back to the bigger list when you are done. Start prioritizing those and go again.
4 - Don’t compare yours to others’
Gentle note to self: don’t mind what everybody else is doing. They’re not further along or doing better. Nobody knows what they’re doing; we’re all doing the best we can with what we got, and we’re all on our own paths & timelines. You will get yours.
5 - Tidy up
Clean up the mess. Clean up a mess. Really, tidying up helps. You don’t have to do a full house cleanup. Pick your bedroom and make it a nice place for you to rest your head tonight. Place a candle or a flower. Set up your sofa area and declutter all that needs to go from there. Light a scented candle, pour yourself a glass of wine/tea and enjoy the calm of it.
Journal prompts for dealing with overwhelm
Identity the areas of your life that are feeling overwhelming:
What are one-two small steps I can make today to make it easier?
What steps will I take later?
What self-care activities help me feel calm and refreshed right now?
What boundaries do I need to set to protect my wellbeing and prevent overwhelm?
I can prevent this emotion from building the next time by:
