5 things you can do to combat being overwhelmed
Let's face reality: there will be occasions in life when you'll experience a sense of being overwhelmed. Whether it's due to work, school, social responsibilities or life in general, we all go through periods of feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed at some point. It's crucial to be kind to yourself when these emotions arise. Rather than dismiss them or try to power through the cause of your anxiety, it's essential to recognise the importance of your mental well-being. If you're feeling weighed down, it's alright to take a step back.
So in order to avoid that feeling, here are 5 things you can do to combat being overwhelmed
1.Stay and be organised
One of the main things that can stress me out is disorganisation. I’m sure that I'm not alone with this one at all. Feeling a lack of organisation results in me wanting to pull my hair out and bleeds stress and feelings of being overwhelmed by other aspects of my life, which is definitely less than ideal.
So to combat that feeling I like to stay nice and organised as much as I can. Writing up a schedule or keeping a diary can be a really useful and easy way to stay on top of things and see what you have coming up. Making a plan for your day/week/month/year is also super helpful to see the bigger picture of what needs to be done and when.
Setting reminders or alarms to get things done on time is useful especially if you have a time crunch or are a little forgetful at times. Organisation can look different for everyone but as long as your way makes sense to you and keeps you on top of things then it is perfect.
2. Overcommitting - stay away from it!
Committing to something knowing you will not be able to follow that commitment through is not only a disservice to yourself but also to those you are committing to. If you are unable to attend that event, edit that paper, or sell those raffle tickets - whatever it may be - then you should never feel the need to commit and say you can.
By spreading yourself too thin and over committing you will run out of time and energy to do the things that NEED to be done and boom you’re going to feel super overwhelmed. Then you will have to go through all the hoops of cancelling and letting others down and in the end, you will feel like you failed someone or yourself.
Being aware enough of your own schedule and knowing how to responsibly commit to things will free you up to do those things a lot better than if you had a million other commitments to do on top of it. Overcommitting will soak up all your brain juice and leave nothing but feelings of anxiety and frustration.
3. Take time to rest when you can
We are often taught that any time we are free should be filled with something productive. Even if it’s your 10-minute bus ride home and want to scroll Instagram, there is too much other to do and you know that every minute counts, right!? Wrong! This mentality is one that maybe a few of you out there really respond well to and it works for you, sure, but for the rest of us, this will be a one-way ticket to feeling overwhelmed. When you have some extra time and before you jump into a super productive task, take a minute. Ask your mind and your body, is this what I need to do right now? If the answer is no, then with no shame at all - take some rest. This moment's rest will actually help you in the long run to feel less overwhelmed because it will give your brain a little refresh and help you do tasks/errands/whatever it may be that you’re doing, with more patience and leave you feeling calmer. You never know when the next time you will be able to take a moment's rest will be, so seize the opportunities when you can and refresh yourself.
4. Learn to delegate and have work-life balance
Delegating seems like a pretty easy thing to do, but for some of us relinquishing that control over tasks is a little harder. I for one, needed to learn this task and quick smart.
We want the best quality of work and the best outcome but realistically one person cannot do the tasks made for an army. So learning to delegate will take the pressure off your shoulders and allow a sense of calm to make its way into your mind. Once you don’t have a full plate of work to do, trust me, you will feel a lot less overwhelmed.
Another positive outcome of delegating is that sometimes other people can give a fresh perspective or approach to your work. Even if you don’t love their ideas, you know that they have got some floating around and this will come in handy at a later time. Delegating then helps with having work life balance. If you are spending all your time working, chances are your ME time will suffer and your fuse will be shorter, leading to a state of a mental shutdown. You need to learn when it is okay to shut the laptop and do something you enjoy to get your brain releasing all those happy chemicals and keeping you calm. Without work-life balance, in the long run your work will suffer and you won't be able to enjoy your life without feeling as if you should be working.
5. You aren't weak if you ask for help!
Asking for help can sometimes be the hardest thing to do. But why! Why do we feel as if it is a weakness or as if we have failed if we ask for help? This question is big of a topic to unpack in one paragraph but essentially we feel as if we need to prove that we have everything under control but in reality who does?! Asking for help, whether that be emotional, physical, spiritual or whatever kind of help you need will always make a difference in the way you feel. Having someone take even just a little bit off your shoulders will make you feel so much less overwhelmed and allow you to think clearer, make better judgements and feel so much lighter in general. Even if the situation isn't yet dire, ask for a hand so that it doesn’t get to that point. Never be afraid to ask those who you trust for help. It will save you so many headaches and allow you to get back to a calmer state of mind.
Let’s face reality, we all feel overwhelmed, but it is about making a change for the better. Try these out and let me know how you go.