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Dealing With End-of-Year Overwhelm

Guest post by: Denise Griffitts

Article Overview: Overwhelm comes from doing too much, too fast with little regard for how well you are actually performing the task at hand. I know we consider ourselves multi-tasking wonders, but the truth of the matter is that this is not always the best way to do and enjoy whatever it is that you are doing. When you feel overwhelm rising, and you do feel it physically, stop. Just stop what you are doing. Be present in the moment, allow the anxiety to diffuse, take a break as mentioned above and then reboot to move forward with a clear head.

Dealing With End-of-Year Overwhelm

2010 is coming to an end and 2011 is right around the proverbial corner. I don’t know about you, but I am feeling the need to “get it ALL done” before year’s end. Whether this means accomplishing the last remaining task on our goals list or finally completing one major task from the aforementioned list, this is the time of year many of us tend to reflect…. and then panic! Given all that is happening in our world right now, politicians driving us around the bend, the economy, job losses, home foreclosures (add your source of angst here) there is little doubt that many of us are suffering from daily overwhelm. So the question becomes, how can we be effective in our daily lives and our entrepreneurial pursuits when we are running on a low-level sense of dread fueled by panic and caffeine? When overwhelm hits you and you realize that your eyes are starting from your head from being over-stimulated, your best bet is to physically take a break. Grab a quick (healthy) snack, take a quick walk around the block or go outside and play with your children, your dog or the squirrels in the backyard. Stand up and take a good long stretch and do some deep breathing. One of my favorite stress busters is my rebounder, or mini-trampoline. I stop everything that I am doing/worrying about/considering panicking about and go jump on my rebounder much as a small, carefree child does. Overwhelm comes from doing too much, too fast with little regard for how well you are actually performing the task at hand. I know we consider ourselves multi-tasking wonders, but the truth of the matter is that this is not always the best way to do and enjoy whatever it is that you are doing. When you feel overwhelm rising, and you do feel it physically, stop. Just stop what you are doing. Be present in the moment, allow the anxiety to diffuse, take a break as mentioned above and then reboot to move forward with a clear head. Sit down at some point and have a chat with yourself about what is that is really causing your productivity to suffer, thereby causing overwhelm. Are your boundaries shifting, meaning that you allow external distractions without holding firm to your office hours or set tasks? Can you consider reducing your productivity expectations and determine to do one or two major projects superbly and outsource some of the less technical and smaller income producing tasks to an assistant or a virtual service provider such as a Virtual Assistant? Determine where you can say no and let go of tasks that others really can and should take over. By creating balance in your life you can be highly productive and have a life that is well worth living and celebrating. So when you hit a wall: Take a break Get some exercise Consider the source of the overwhelm and determine if this task is something that you are really the only person in world can do. (You already know the answer to that one!) Delegate and outsource Let go. Sometimes that is the only answer

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Article Tags: overwhelm, priorities, productivity, stress management, time management, virtual assistant
Referred by: http://www.onlinebizu.com



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