Are you feeling overwhelmed? Take a bit of time for self-care and try these 5 things to do when you are feeling overwhelmed.
Do you say to yourself things like “when I’m less busy” or “things will calm down soon?” I have done that for a long time but I’m figuring out that things never seem to calm down and I’m always busy.
I’m starting to see that I can’t just wait for things to “calm down” to stop being so stressed and overwhelmed. I have to learn to use my time better and be more productive. There are just too many things I want to do and have to do to keep being overwhelmed and stressed.
I can’t say time management is something I’m naturally good at. I’ve never been one that can focus on one task that well and I just don’t seem to be one of those people that can keep track of time well. My mind wanders too much.
You may think “why should I take advice from you if you aren’t good at this?” Well, who would you rather learn from? Someone that has struggled with time management and found things to help with this struggle or someone that naturally finds it easy?
People that are naturally good at time management have a lot to share but if you struggle with it hearing from someone that understands that struggle can be really helpful. And I have found a lot of great tips to help.
5 Things to DO When You Are Feeling Overwhelmed
Set Up Good Routines
I have fought against having a schedule my whole life but I have to admit that good routines really do make all of the difference. Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Mornings and Make Over Your Evenings e-courses have really helped me set up routines. It takes some trial and error but once you have good routines you will feel at least somewhat productive even if you do nothing else all day.
Use a Planner
I used to do just fine without a planner but these days I have too much going on to think I can just remember everything. Now I take time each Sunday to plan out my week and each night I look at it and add what I need to. There is something really satisfying about checking things off of your to-do list.
Find Time for Self-Care
This is something I’m still working on. It’s easy to remove all the self-care from our schedules when we get busy. We think those things only impact us so they should be the first to go.
However, when we don’t take care of ourselves everything else suffers. I’m making a point to make time for exercise as well as things that help my mental health. I’m also building in time for education. I believe it’s important to always be learning and I haven’t been making the time for that, that I should have. There are a lot of great free and cheap e-courses out there, I really like Craftsy for the fun, hobby-type courses. I’ve also been using the Duolingo app to learn Italian.
Make Dinner Easier
This goes along with taking care of yourself. Eating healthy food gives us more energy and helps us to be our best selves. When we get busy we often make bad food choices. Having healthy meals in your freezer can prevent this. I used to be better at doing this but have gotten out of the habit lately.
You can also use Eat at Home menu plans to have all the meal planning done for you. They give you the meal plan and color-coded shopping lists to make it really easy.
You can also try a meal delivery service like Blue Apron so all you have to do is cook the meals. It’s a really good option for those very busy time.
Additional Resource: Intro to Freezer Cooking and 50 Healthy Freezer Meal Recipes
Build in Margin
This may be the hardest thing for me. Crystal Paine preaches this in her courses and she is right it’s very important. It’s easy to try and pack everything we can into our day but we need breathing room.
Not only do we need breaks but having this time built in makes it less stressful if something takes longer than you planned or something new comes up. When planning, be sure to allow extra time for everything, it’s better to have more time than you thought you did.
Additional Resource: Create a Stop-Doing List
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Deanna Piercy says
We are, once again, on the same wave length. Routines, self-care, etc. These are high on my list these days. And you’re right – it can be really helpful to hear what works for someone who isn’t naturally organized. That’s the whole idea behind FlyLady.
Andrea says
This is such a helpful post, well done!
Natasha says
Wonderful and timely post!
Akram Taghavi-Burris says
What great tips! I really like the last one, I’m all about productivity, but without breathing room you’re likely to collapse.
Kay says
Have found that I need to stop and praise myself for a job well done no matter how small the task seems to be.
Jenn says
Thank you so much for this post. I struggle with the idea of “allowing” myself breaks and taking time for myself. It helps to hear someone else saying that it is vital.