Dealing With Overwhelm: Practical Tips to Regain Control

What do you do when dealing with overwhelm?

Many of us juggle work and life, manage to-do lists, meet deadlines, attend meetings, care for family, tackle tasks, and respond to emails and phone calls.

The list goes on and on!

When we feel overwhelmed, we don’t devote enough time to planning. We become short-tempered with colleagues, clients, friends, and family. Our blood pressure goes up. People spend evenings and weekends trying to catch up. They postpone decisions. And the most important things, in real terms, get neglected…until it’s too late.

Sound familiar?

But how do we deal with it?

For me, it starts with eliminating all the things that aren’t important.

But the response I typically get from clients is that it’s ALL important.

Feeling overwhelmed? Sometimes clearing your mind starts with clearing your space.

However, for a moment, step back and look at your list of all the things you have to do, and decide on:

You see, we typically find ourselves saying that it’s important, when it’s not really. It’s important to respond to all the emails. And to attend the meetings. It’s also important to get all the tasks done.

I once told a client not to respond to the 1,000+ emails that he had in his inbox, and to move them all to a separate folder in his email account, so that they would all still be there if he ever needed them, but his inbox would be empty, for once!

His reaction – shock and horror.

The difference afterward – was amazing, for him.

Did anything negative happen – No!

The thing is, sometimes we make things important; because WE want to feel important!

We’re looking for other people’s opinions, feedback, and validation…to say to us that we’re a good boy/girl.

That we’re doing a good job.

Take a moment to pause and reset. A walk, a breath of fresh air, or even clearing your inbox can bring clarity and control, helping the overwhelm fade away. What’s your go-to reset?

Since we were a child we’ve been trained to operate this way. You’ll even see yourself doing it with your colleagues, friends, and children.

We don’t want to let people down.

Where we’re letting ourselves down.

It’s because of this “need” to have other people’s validation that our self-esteem gets lower…and then we climb to a state of overwhelm.

The question is this: What’s the most important thing you need to do right now?

Sometimes the answer might be to simply go for a walk, get some fresh air, take a deep breath, get a different perspective, or move all your emails from your inbox!

When we do this, we get back our control.

When we’re in control, the overwhelm goes away.

What do you do when you experience being overwhelmed?