You’re not alone. All of us feel overwhelmed at some point in our lives, and for some it’s a feeling that can last years.
What can we do to stop those horrible feelings of tension, panic and stress that can be felt throughout our bodies, even when we’re trying to go to sleep?
1. Breathe
If you are feeling a rising tide of panic, because you’re feeling overwhelmed, a quick and effective way to feel calmer is to focus on your breathing. Practise this at times when you aren’t feeling stressed so that you can do it easily.
- Sit or stand comfortably.
- Breathe in (through your nose if possible), counting to 3 or even 5.
- Then breathe out, counting again.
- Repeat for as long as you can, up to 5 minutes.
Even if you only have time to focus on three breaths, this will help you centre yourself again.
Do your best not to think about what you need to do, just focus on your breathing. If other thoughts drift in, recognise them and then let them go. It’s totally natural and doesn’t matter.
The great thing about focussing on breathing is that you can do it anywhere – at your desk, in a lift, standing in a queue.
2. Stop and assess
This is counter-intuitive. Surely, when we’re overwhelmed, stopping to think is the last thing we should be doing? But actually, taking even 5 minutes to look at the whole situation can be remarkably effective. If possible, take time to go for a walk, as movement will help your body relax and allow the brain to think.
Take time to think about what is really making you feel overwhelmed. Often we just accept our feelings without digging down and really thinking about what’s causing them.
- Is it the number of things you have to do?
- Is it one big task that seems overwhelming?
- Do you feel you lack the skills or knowledge to do something?
- Or is it something like uncertainty of what your workload will look like?
Once you’ve pinpointed exactly what the problem is, then you can start to find a solution.
3. Question
Look at the tasks that are the main cause of your feelings of overwhelm. Ask yourself some questions.
- Do they all need to be done by you?
- Can you delegate them, either to members of your team, or if there are tasks outside of work, can you give them to other family members, or pay someone to do them?
- Do you actually need to do all of them? Sometimes, when we look at the tasks we do, we realise that some of them quite simply don’t really need to be done, we’ve just got into a habit of doing them.
- Can they be automated?
4. Focus on one thing
Find one task that you can reasonably complete today, and do it. If it’s one big project that’s making you feel overwhelmed, think about the different components of it, and choose one small thing.
It’s amazing how much better we feel when something’s completed, even if we know there are many other things to do.
5. Take action to change things now
Sometimes, delegating a task can be more time consuming in the short term because you might need to retrain someone to do something, or spend time looking for someone to hire.
For example, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, ‘I’ll get a VA when I’ve got time to look for one.’ But what is more helpful is to think, ‘I’ll have more time when I get a VA.’
Reframing our thoughts in this way is really helpful, as we’re focussing on the benefit of finding a VA, not the task itself and so we’re much more likely to do it.
Every step we take helps us get back in control so that we can enjoy our work and home lives without feeling overwhelmed.
I work with new managers, helping them become leaders who make a positive impact on their teams, their organisations and the world.
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