That overwhelmed feeling. Your heart rate has picked up and your chest is tightening. Everyone in the family requires something only you can help with. There is a mountain of laundry, sticky dishes, and the baby just spilled an entire box of Cheerios on the floor. But where do you even start?!
The worst part of being overwhelmed is feeling like you are stuck. It’s important to take some action. So try one of these 5 ways to help you take action and move through that overwhelmed feeling.
#1: Sweep or vacuum the floor
Sweeping or vacuuming is like therapy to me. It requires zero thinking and there is a physical rhythm to it.
There are two positive outcomes from starting here-
1)Having a clean floor means no more annoying bits sticking to your feet. Can you be in a good mood when there is crap stuck to your feet? I think not.
2) You have accomplished a task. Success! Check it off your list and move onto another task, whatever it may be.
#2: Create a master to-do list
I’m a list maker. It helps me get the craziness of to-do’s out of my head and onto paper. From here I can organize and prioritize.
Write down everything you want to get done this week.
Everything.
The big things and the little things.
For example, I want to sew myself a new tote bag, create social media images for the week, write a blog post, take the kids to a movie and organize my sock drawer.
Take a look at your week on a calendar. Start plugging in tasks for each day.
With four kids running around, I only have short windows of time to get stuff done. So for Monday I will create 3 social media images. Tuesday I will finish the remaining 3 images and start my blog post. Wednesday I finish my blog post and publish it. Thursday I will take the kids to a movie. Friday will be organize my sock drawer day. That leaves the weekend to start and complete my tote bag.
If you give yourself only one or two tasks a day, things do not seem so overwhelming. If you complete the day’s task and have time, move on to the next task for the following day. Or use the extra time to treat yourself for a job well done!
#3: Ask for direction
When my life is spinning out of control, there is one person who I lean on- my husband. He knows exactly what I need. I need someone to tell me what to do. I need someone to direct me. I can hand him my list and he will tell me what task to do.
Sometimes you need to turn your brain off and just do the motions. Don’t think, just do.
Ask a friend or spouse to be your director. Let them know that some days you will need them to just direct you. They can call you, text you or if they are there with you, they might even help with the do’s.
Don’t be afraid to ask for some help. Do not let your pride hinder your ability to get stuff done. I can guarantee the person you ask will need some direction one day too.
#4: Just do the next right thing
The best advice I have ever read is “Just do the next right thing”. It’s from Matthew Kelly’s book Perfectly Yourself: Discovering God’s Dream For You. He writes:
“Whenever you get into a funk, just do the next right thing. And keep doing the next right thing. You will be amazed at how quickly you work yourself out of the funk if you approach it in this way.
Such a simple idea. Do not overthink. Just act. Do whatever feels like the next right thing.
#5: Just let it out
There are days when I just need to sit on the bathroom floor, let it all go and just cry. Yep. Ugly cry. I get mad, frustrated, sad, feel like a failure, feel defeated and feel exhausted. Then I’m done. I can move on.
I firmly believe that a large part of the overwhelming feeling is just bottled up emotions.
Let them out. Free your brain from the voices. Free your heart from the strangulation of suppressed emotions. Allow yourself to be vulnerable. Do some self reflection. Ask yourself some questions. Why do I feel this way? What can I do to change the situation? Who can help me make these changes? What is my next step?
After a good ugly cry, I always find clarity. Things don’t seem quite so bad. The next right step seems easier to take. My to-do list becomes simpler.
It’s okay that my closet is messy right now. My clothes are clean and contained.
It’s okay that my kid’s project is not Pinterest worthy. It’s supposed to be his project anyways.
It’s okay that my blog post is pushed back a day. It’s not ideal but my sanity is more important.
It’s okay that my bathroom is dirty. It will still be there tomorrow. Spending time with my kids is more important.
Find peace in the fact that everyone feels overwhelmed. It happens at home, at work, at the store (how many kinds of butter do we really need?). It can come out of nowhere. It can be triggered by the smallest thing. So be prepared.
Find ways to move past that overwhelming feeling. Don’t let this brief moment completely deter your accomplishments.
Start small, make a list, ask for help, take the next right step and let it out.