This week I’ve been feeling overwhelmed. It feels like it’s more acute this year. Maybe people are doing more things? Or perhaps I’m doing more things? Whatever the reason, I seem to be feeling it more than in previous Decembers.

I had a very productive coaching session at the end of last week talking through a particularly busy week I have coming up. We looked at what I could do to control it, how I could build time into my schedule to recover and also, tools to combat the anxiety of having so much on.

It all felt good. And yet, I felt the overwhelm hit me again this morning with a whole host of things going on this week - things to arrange, presents to buy and work stuff to get through.

Now I’m a list writer. So today, after a brief bit of gratitude journaling, I sat down and wrote my list for the week. I usually just list out the things I want to achieve during the week, but today I went specific and gave the jobs to specific days.

Immediately after getting everything down on paper, I felt calmer. Seeing it all broken down into achievable steps like that made me see it was totally possible, I just had to approach it methodically.

So it got me thinking, is that feeling of overwhelm something we can control?

Usually, when I’m feeling like there is a lot going on, I worry that there is a lot going on and how I’m going to get it all done. But am I actually doing anything to make a difference towards getting those jobs completed? No! I’m just worrying about doing those jobs.

So is it our minds protecting us? Or is it more a reminder that we can’t do everything all of the time and to take it slow?

Personally, I think it’s the latter. For me, it’s a reminder to add breaks and downtime into my schedule. It’s a reminder to work methodically and it’s a reminder to take it slow when I can.

I love December, I love the Christmas build up and I love spending time with my family. Have I got the balance right at the moment? Not quite yet! And I think that was where some of my overwhelm was coming from. Because I wanted to enjoy time with the people who matter to me, rather than feeling under pressure to rush from one thing to the next.

I think there is a great value in having the time to take a pause and get everything out of your head - whether that’s by talking to someone else or writing it down (or both).

I don’t think we can necessarily stop the feeling of overwhelm, but listening to it, understanding what it’s trying to tell us and taking steps to deal with it can only be a good thing.

Motivational card that says you are capable of anything

Here are my 5 top tips to help combat overwhelm this year:

Take a breath. Seriously, stop, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth slowly. Try to do this for a minute. Relaxing your body on every out breath.
Think about where the overwhelm is coming from. Is it expectations you’ve put on yourself? Or are they coming from externally?
Write everything down. In a list, as detailed as you can. Don’t just add sweeping projects on the list - e.g ‘buy presents’. Break it down - who do you need to buy for, do you have ideas for them? Or shops they particularly like?
What of these pressures can you control? Can you give yourself some slack in any deadlines? Can you move things around or delegate any of the jobs? Can you place less expectation on yourself?
Have you actually told yourself you’re doing a great job? Celebrate how far you’ve come, even if you’ve still got a long way to go. It’s the journey that matters, give yourself a pat on the back for all you’ve achieved so far.

As for point number 5, it’s the thing that so many people have a problem with. That feeling that you can only celebrate when you’ve achieved the final goal, without acknowledging all the many steps it’s taken you to get to that point.

My advice - if you’re looking for some, celebrate the many small steps - that’s the part that keeps you motivated!

And in case you need to hear it from someone else too - keep going, you’re doing an awesome job 🌟✨💕

My top 5 tips for dealing with overwhelm