Overwhelmed? How to Get Out!

Write it out 
When I’m overwhelmed, my planner is therapeutic; the mere act of scripting out an action plan reassures me everything will be okay. 

In my Planner Perfect, planner, and in my month I’m currently overwhelmed in…I script out all that I feel buried under. Create a header for this monster such as *Buried Alive…What Needs to Get Done*. (Use a spiral bound notebook if you don’t have the PP, planner.) 

Isn’t it funny how when you are feeling overwhelmed it almost retards you and you don’t know where to start? One piece of advice is to never dig in until you write it out. Be detailed in how you want to get it done and figure out which days are best for getting to it. If you are going to have to tackle two weeks of laundry, make sure the day you choose to tackle it isn’t a busy day full of errand running.  What time/day is the best to get those bedrooms tackled and the dusting done? When can those bathrooms get tackled? This is the kind of details that need to be thought of and written out to ensure back-on-track, success. 

Delegate! I write down, too, who can do what to help get the house in order; after all it’s a family affair, not to mention I’m pretty sure I’m not responsible for than 99% of the mess!

My mom loved writing her action plan. She’d pamper herself with a pot of tea, laid out her planner, and would script her plan of attack. We would always tease her on how elaborate her lengths were to create such ambiance for herself.*giggle, now I do it, too*

Space yourself. When overwhelmed, you’re buried because it’s bigger than you. Don’t try and get this done all in one day. Space yourself. But do, write out what you want to dive-in and get done quickly to keep your sanity (mine is my kitchen and family room–if these two rooms are clean I feel less stressed), the rest should be done in moderation. (Unless of course you can truly devote one whole day to dig out–sometimes it can be done and with everyone in the family digging in, it can be done! 🙂 

In Planner Perfect there is your daily section that has a lot of room to speckle some of these tasks within your week(s). But even though it’s not done in one day, the weight is lifted because you have an action plan. You will feel good about leaving that dirty toilet for now, because you have it written in your planner on the day you’re going to tackle it. 

Slow Down. If some of the reason for feeling overwhelmed is all the activities your kids are in or obligations you have got yourself into…list these stressors out and figure out how you can make changes to your schedule. Maybe it’s time to re-look through your life and slow it down. Remember, this advice: you can change your mind. I think as moms, in particular, we feel like we don’t have that privilege; we have guilt for letting our kids down. But we do! If you can move things around, do a particular activity less often, or even drop it all together for your sanity, it’s worth it in ten-fold! Working around the problem all the time never works for long and you will come full circle to being overwhelmed, again and again. Say good-bye to things that eat-up your life in this season of your life. There will always be other opportunities and/or different seasons in your life where you can introduce them again.