Stuck in Overwhelm? 3 Ways You Can Get Out of It

Stuck in Overwhelm? 3 Ways You Can Get Out of It 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,

Gretchen

Feeling Overwhelmed and Under Pressure?

FeelingOverwhelmedUnderPressureDo you ever feel like you’re putting so much pressure on yourself?

With many of the things I want to do in life and in helping my clients, I’ve noticed that I tend to put a lot of  pressure on myself. Only after looking at my calendar and my mile long to-do list (of my own making) do I realize that the pressure I put on myself turns into overwhelm.

The overwhelm then creates procrastination. Why is that? Because I expect too much for myself so I delay doing what I reeeealllly need to do. And, if I’m honest, it means that I’m not always using that precious resource called time in the best manner (you know, the one we can never get more of).

This gets to be tough to keep at bay but over time I’ve developed an approach to manage the overwhelm and not let it stop me from achieving my big goals.

It may surprise you what I recommend doing when that feeling of overwhelm starts creeping in on you.

One time when I was speaking with a colleague, I shared this cycle with her and she helped me to speak the process out loud and observe what I do to keep the stress of that long to-do list in check.

When there are a lot of things that I need to do, or one big thing, and I start to get that sensation of feeling overwhelmed, I know I need to stop and look at the situation.

This is the moment when I accept the reality that I’m asking too much of myself. No, I don’t cut my to-do list in half and call it day. Instead, I look for ways that I can make the to-do items smaller.

This is called  breaking things down into “turtle steps”. It takes me out of overwhelm because I can still get that sense of completion by 100% finishing individual items or steps in a project. And, it allows me to actually make progress toward my bigger goals whether they’re throwing a party for 50 people, developing a new opt-in for my clients or building a new office for my coaching practice. When you start to feel overwhelmed, just think…

Turtle steps. Slow, steady and doable.

Sound like a contradiction?

By using this process it may seem like more is being added to your to-do list but it actually allows you to see a path of what needs to be done instead of a giant goal where seeing the path to completion is foggy, unclear and has a lot of unknown pitfalls.

Still feeling overwhelmed?

Tell me, what is one thing on your to-do list that you haven’t been able to complete? How can you break that one task into three smaller “turtle steps” or tasks instead of one?

Now, go to your calendar and find three open times to add those steps that seems realistic.

How did that feel? If it didn’t feel doable, tweak the steps and the time it in your calendar until it does. You may need to break it down into even smaller steps.

Once you do that, do you feel more open? Are you breathing easier about it?  I’d love to know how this process works for you or if you have a method that works well for handling your overwhelm. Let me know in the comments!

With much love and gratitude,

Gretchen

Overwhelmed By Budgeting? 3 Ways to Feel at Ease With It

Overwhelmed By Budgeting? 3 Ways to Feel at Ease With It Have you ever felt totally scattered when it came time to do your bills?

Maybe you’ve felt panicked that your card might be declined because you didn’t know for sure if you had enough money to cover a purchase.

If your money’s a mess, it translates into stress for you and your family, and can make you feel worried about every last penny you spend.

Since I don’t want you to be unnecessarily penny-pinching, I was wondering if you you’d like to know how I keep my monthly costs straight? I’ve got three tools that make it easier to get all my monthly bills paid and to know if I can afford a new StitchFix.

If you’re curious to see my secret system for monthly budgeting and the three totally free tools that I use to save time and tons of hassle, read on. I’m even sharing a bonus tool that you can use right away to get your bank balance and bills under control.

I wouldn’t consider myself a numbers guru, however, I’ve created a system that works well for my household and allows for me to be on top of my numbers all the time. My process is deceivingly simple for the amount of stress that it alleviates and it’s something you can use, too.

I start with a spreadsheet. You can use Excel or Google Sheets but know that you don’t have to pay a monthly subscription for accounting software to figure out your budget.

Sample BudgetTo understand the system I’m using, I’m giving you this free budgeting spreadsheet as an extra bonus. Click through to download it now (no email required). It’ll make the system I’m about to share with you understandable.

Now that you’ve downloaded the Monthly Budget Spreadsheet, take a look at the tracking categories:

  1. Columns on the left show what I pay monthly, the amount due and date due.
    1. I list them based on the due dates from the beginning to the end of the month.
  2. If there are promotions (say for credit cards) I’ll note their expiration date.
  3. On the right said I break the month down into weeks. This way I know what’s coming in and what’s going out and the timing of it all.
  4. I make sure my monthly total matches my weekly total breakdown.

Tool 1: Calendar Reminders

So I don’t incur extra fees or miss payments, I add all of my payments to my Google calendar so I know when they’re due and the amount that needs to be paid. If they come out automatically, I always list those the Friday before the week it’s due so I’m sure not to miss a payment.

Tool 2: Spreadsheet Calculating the Numbers

I’m harnessing that neat-o ability my spreadsheet has to automatically calculate my numbers so I’m tracking them and making sure I’m adding correctly. Having the spreadsheet automatically calculate and total numbers avoids mis-calculations that easily can happen when you add by hand. And, with it all in ONE place on my spreadsheet, it acts like a “dashboard” so I can jump in and see things at-a-glance.

Tool 3: Regular Check In

I add a recurring reminder to my calendar to check in and to look at the numbers once a week. This means I never feel overwhelmed and I’m never too far behind. It helps me to feel more in control of my finances and like an organized super woman.

In fact, the spreadsheet is designed so I’m always ahead of things. This allows me to move from being reactive if a surprise bill happens (you say I have to fix what on my car?!?) to being proactive.

This system makes me FEEL better about my finances, it helps me to know what I can spend and where. It’s great to be able to help others when the need is there. And, if a mega sale on something comes up (flight to Puerto Rico??), I know right away if I can take advantage of it.

Knowing and understanding the number of clients or amount of monthly income I need to bring in to contribute to our monthly bills brings me peace of mind for sure. The system makes it easier to do my accounting as the automation of tasks saves time and keeps me on top of things with a very manageable process.

As one who loves knowing and understanding numbers, I believe that a budget is the best tool for removing a big layer of stress and fear so you can have more time to do the things you really enjoy.

You’re now equipped with three tools and a bonus tracking spreadsheet to help get control over your budget once and for all. Leave a note in the comments if you’ve got questions about the tools or system. Or let me know what helps to make your budgeting process easier.

With much gratitude,

Gretchen

 

 

P.S. Are you feeling nuts over your numbers because you don’t know what’s coming in and when money-wise? Do you feel like your money worries go beyond what my budgeting system can fully fix? Got questions about my budgeting system? This is the kind of thing I help people like you work through. I welcome you to schedule a free 20 minute call to talk about it.