Lately, I have been feeling overwhelmed by a lot of personal and professional factors. Health issues, the well-being of people around me and work pressure were the factors that were taking a toll on me.
You may also come across times like these where you feel overwhelmed and anxious. Today, I'm going to share 9 Effective Ways to Combat Overwhelm. I hope you find these useful.
1. Journaling
When the mind gets cluttered with too many thoughts and there is a lot of inner battle going on between your head and heart, a great way to streamline all these thoughts is to grab a notebook and pen and start writing. Do not think of your next sentence or how grammatically correct your sound, just write down anything and everything that comes to your mind. Let your thoughts flow freely onto the notebook.
Soon after you feel like you have emptied out everything that comes to your mind, you will feel a certain amount of lift off your shoulders. You can take a break and come back to review what you have jotted down. You will then have a clear picture what are the things that are actually bothering you because it's all inked onto the paper in front of you. You can then come up with an action plan for each of these pointers.
2. Meditation
Meditation is another way to calm down the battle of your inner thoughts and confusion. You can sit comfortably in a quiet corner of your room, close you eyes and focus on your breathing. In the beginning, you may find a rush of thoughts passing but slowly you will notice a sense of calm and peace.
Don't try to control your thoughts. Let them come and go. Don't react, just let them pass.
3. Doing What is in Your Control
A mindset shift that is helpful when you feel overwhelmed or anxious is there is only so much that you can control. You really don't have much control over the results of any given task. All you can do is put in your very best. Putting your best efforts is in your control but what the future holds for your efforts is really not under your control. So, it's best to not think about it.
Getting this shift in mindset is pretty tough in the beginning but with practice, you would be able to get a hold of it. You will see its benefits and you would really stop thinking about the results reducing a significant amount of overwhelming.
4. Prioritising
Prioritising tasks based on their importance is a great way to get a picture of what needs to be tacked first and gotten out of the way. You would have an order of priority to know which tasks require your first and utmost attention and which of them can be kept for a later time. You could then focus on the priority tasks when you feel the most energetic during the day and knock it off your to-do list.
If you don't set your priorities you may end up spending your energy that is unimportant and feels overwhelmed during the later part of the day.
5. Breaking Down Tasks
When you're handed a large project, it's easier to feel overwhelmed because the task at hand seems unachievable. However, when you take the time to break it down into smaller digestible chunks, it's become more consumable.
You now have the steps that would help you complete the project and all you have to do is get started and tick off one task after another.
6. Setting Boundaries
Setting boundaries for work hours, for self-care, is a great avoid overwhelm. It's important to know when to say 'No' or delegate your tasks at hand. As time is the most precious thing we have at hand, we should be able to utilise it in the best way possible.
All setting time aside and batching mundane chores like cooking, cleaning etc can be a great way to avoid overwhelm of piling up such tasks.
7. Taking Short Breaks
If you are feeling anxious and overwhelmed in a certain situation or while doing a task and you continue doing it, the anxiousness may only arise. However, if you allow yourself to take a short break and do these in regular intervals, it will put your mind off the task for a bit and also may help you come up with a better solution to complete it.
While on the break, listen to a podcast that uplifts you, listen to some soothing music, take a walk in the garden, take a short nap or read a non-fiction book. If not just sit in a quiet place and do nothing at all. I'm sure you will feel a lot better after the break.
8. Talking it Out
One other way to combat overwhelm is to talk it out to a trustworthy person. Find a friend, a family member or even a therapist with who you can open up. Talk about all the things that are bothering you and let them out of your system.
Make sure that the person you choose to vent everything out is trustworthy and won't take advantage of your bad times.
9. Realising that it is all Part of Life
Accept that life can't always be fun and cheerful. You are faced with such situations only so that they teach you something in return. Such experiences may seem very tough to face when you're dealing with them but trust that it will all clear out in the end. You will come out stronger, more resilient and matured after dealing with such experiences.
That's about it guys!
These are the ways that I have been dealing with overwhelm. What are the ways you deal with overwhelm? I would be happy to know and incorporate it into my life. Do let me know in the comments below.
I hope you have a great week ahead.
Cheers.
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