When do you begin to notice you’re swamped with too much to do and that stress is starting to creep in?? Is it when you’ve nearly bitten the head off of a co-worker or family member (oops!)?
Or when you’re so dog-tired that you’re starting to make careless mistakes because you’ve been staring at the computer screen for what feels like a thousand hours? Around here we like to call that a case of having “mush brain”.
If this is the case, it may be too late to prevent the overwhelm feeling from setting in because you’ve just found yourself in the thick of feeling stressed out with too much on your plate, and too many deadlines to meet.
It can sneak up on you just like that. Fine one minute and then boom!, hello overwhelm-ville.
Last week we talked about taking turtle steps so you can see your progress as a way to get out of feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list.
This week we’re taking it a step further by giving you three totally different ways to cope with the stress of feeling like there’s too much on your plate.
Here are three techniques in different sizes that allow you to get a little separation from the project at hand that’s causing you pain.
SMALL:
You’re stuck at your desk and you’re about to lose it because you just realized that you forgot you needed to do that other part of the project, the one that essentially eats up any float time you might have had.
When this happens, take several deep breaths and feel your feet on the ground. Take note of your five senses. What do you smell? What do you hear? What do you taste? What do you see? What do you feel?
This will allow for you to come back to the present moment, feel grounded + centered and allow for you to think more clearly when deciding that next step.
MEDIUM:
Get up and take a break away from your project. This could be that you go get a glass of water, take a restroom break, go into a conference room and call a friend for a few minutes, surf social media, walk to the mailbox, or get out of the office by going to pick up lunch.
The key here is to physically get away from the project. And to spend a little more time doing something else than in the breathing exercise. This will give you a longer break from the overwhelm zone.
LARGE:
Go exercise. This could be as simple as walking around the block. Or it could be that at some point during the day, you go for a run, bike ride, horseback ride, head to the gym to workout, or take an exercise class.
This will really get you out of your head (and worries) and into your body and, in the present moment. It’s hard to stress out about all the stuff you’ve got to get done, let alone think about anything else but your body’s movements, when your boot camp coach is encouraging you to ride that stationary bike faster or do yet another squat.
The next time you find yourself all of a sudden feeling the pressure to get it all done pronto, pick just one of these techniques and notice how it helps you. The more you do it, the more you can train your mind to accept the break which will make it easier to get back to work, feeling like you can get it all done, no problem.
With much love and gratitude,