The feeling of overwhelm is in your head.  And it’s telling you that things feel chaotic.  And you guys?  I’ve been knee deep in the overwhelm lately.  I’ve been hitting snooze daily for the first time in my life.  Work feels impossible, and instead of being productive, I’ve been procrastinating.  Avoiding.  I had this general feeling of OMG I’m so busy!  I have so much to do! That word busy was on constant repeat in my head.
And finally, I snapped. Â Everything started to feel so heavy. Â I started to question why I was even bothering. Â I lost sight of why any of it was important. Â And I wanted to quit. Â All of it. Â I couldn’t do it anymore.
I am the queen of routine and structure.  If I set a self inflicted goal, I will achieve it. I don’t like letting myself down.  People do that for me for free.  So when I started to feel out of control, the first things that went out the window were the goals.  I stopped setting them.  I stopped achieving them.  Stuck.  I busied myself wasting time.  I wasn’t being truly productive, which only contributed to that overwhelmed feeling.
I slapped this busy stamp on my life and hid behind it, but without structure the productivity went out the window and the overwhelm settled in.
How to combat the overwhelm
Prioritize.  Go old school.  Grab yourself a pen and a notebook.  Tuck yourself away in a coffee shop with your earbuds in (I recommend the Birdy pandora station) and work your shit out.  Write everything you need to get done down.  And I mean…everything. I even had shower and take the dog out to pee on my list.  Identify your most unproductive time sucks and find a solution for them.  For me, that was showering and getting ready.  I like to watch Netflix on the iPad while I’m getting ready and it could take up to two hours because I dawdled.  My showers got booted to the evenings now.  Once you have everything down, number them in order of priority.
Restructure.  Identify and set your working hours.  Think of it like office hours in college.  How would you feel if you stopped by to see your professor during his office hours for help, and he wasn’t there?  First things first, you have to know when to show up.
Routine. Now, with your priorities in order and your working hours set, schedule it out.  Get a daily calendar if you need to (I use the Emily Ley Simplified Academic Daily) and actually write in what tasks you need to accomplish during certain hour increments.  Literally find a time to do it all.  If it doesn’t fit, reevaluate and find a solution.  That’s when the priorities come in handy.
Reset. You need time to recharge.  You cannot work all of the time.  You will absolutely burn out, trust me.  I was busying myself in the morning hours from 5AM until 11AM, working my day job til 7, sometimes scarfing down dinner maybe, then working again until I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  I wasn’t Joey anymore.  I was constantly tired, overwhelmed, emotional and just no good.  I set no no hours.  Just like I wouldn’t paint my nails* during my working hours, I won’t work during my no no hours.
I made the point over the last week to fix my overwhelm. Â Just being able to visualize my day, identifying my hours of productivity, and knowing when I could relax zapped away the overwhelmed feeling. Â In fact, I feel the exact opposite these days. Â I feel badass and in control, excited to tackle each day.
*this is a tricky one for me since technically painting my nails falls under the work category.  See?  That’s why making a list of priorities is important. 🙂
Priorities and goals are important. Thanks for the reminder. Helps put things into perspective. Now if I could only figure out why my goals are MY goals. Work zaps me.
Great post Joey! I love making lists when I feel overwhelmed. At the moment I'm trying to cut down how long my morning routine takes and it's making my days so much more productive.
Hollie | hollieshighlights.blogspot.co.uk
So great. I've been feeling so freaking overwhelmed lately, 55 days away from PA school graduation and I told my husband I want to drop out [he wouldn't let me haha]. But seriously I've been struggling with this so much lately. I make like 5 lists a day and live out of my planner, then I try to remind myself that PA school isn't life or death, and that I need to remind myself of what really matters in life (and that is not school).
prioritizing is the key for me. so many things i've yet to do. over 700 emails just mocking me.
Thank you for this post – sometimes I think I have so much to do and don't know where to begin! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
Great post! I think this is something we all could use hearing. Thanks for sharing!
xo,
Sara Kate Styling
oh gosh… I need this post to come up every day in my feed
You were definitely right! This was a must read for me. Lately I've been trying not to write so much down so I can actually get the things I need done. But I'm just like you when I have a daily list – I'm super excited to use my 2016 simplified planner come January!
Prioritizing is so important to me, it helps me get through each day.
When I get super overwhelmed, I make a list of importance and then start checking it off. When I think about all the things I need to do I get very panicky but if I can prioritize those obtainable goals it really helps!
Love these tips. Life gets overwhelming for everyone at some point or another and these are all great ways to get through it. Deep breaths, you've got this!
LOVE this post – could not have come at a better time. I totally felt like this yesterday and am constantly wondering where my weekend went. It's hard to balance having fun, getting stuff done, and actual relaxation. I need to step back and just breathe 🙂
Green Fashionista
Becoming overwhelmed is easy to do sometimes. I hope you got some rest this weekend and feel better about it all 🙂
Oh my goodness, how did you know this was exactly what I needed to read today?!?! This was me last week – totally overwhelmed, fried and snappy. Not too pleasant! I agree with all of your comments – a little R&R goes a long way for me, even if it's just reading in PEACE for a bit. I started having tea before bed too, that seems to also help.
What kind of tea do you have before bed?
I need to get back into a routine. I've actually made time to relax (well, I hurt my foot and I'm kind of forced to) but even when my foot wasn't hurt, I was so exhausted that I didn't make it to the gym because the only time I could was at 5am. And I'm not good at waking up that early. I don't know what it'll take for me to actually be able to get up. I'm proud of myself for relaxing lately though. It's the first time in my life that I've just enjoyed time at home without doing anything specific. I've needed it.
Oh man, I so needed this right now. The overwhelm is real over here lately.
xoxo
Kat 🙂
Such a great post! It's so so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle.
Zelle
Southern Style
Great post lady! I feel like because I only work part-time that I rarely have moments where I'm overwhelmed. Chris however feels overwhelmed A LOT. Really because of his job. Making lists and prioritizing works for me and so does taking a break sometimes. I hope that you had a nice weekend and that you are having a great day today! 🙂
I get overwhelmed REALLY easily. I think it's because I already have a tendency to be anxious and nervous. You are so right that a little prep and plan work can avoid feeling overwhelmed and wasting time! Great post!
When things get really bad I genuinely have to sit down and do one of those urgent / important matrices and start checking stuff off from the top right hand corner. Usually a common or garden list will do it for me though (I love lists, and currently have 3 staring me in the face). I love the idea of no no hours though. Adopting that one asap!
Nice tips! I find that having a routine works♥♥
summerdaisy.net
Priorities are key in my world. I get irritated sometimes when people will tell me I need to do one thing or another… yes, I know, but FIRST we have to do THIS.
Oh girl I so needed this post, thank you. I've been feeling so overwhelmed since I started staying home with baby girl. And I've just been out of my routine and in a funk. Getting motivated starting today!
Great post! I feel calmer and more relaxed just reading this.
So helpful! Sometimes I just don't know how life can get so out of hand!
xx
Leigha
thelilacpress.com
This post couldn't have come at a better time. I have been feeling so stretched lately. Between literally painting nonstop, to trying to blog, and trying to be present with the kids everything has been sliding and overwhelm has been nonstop. I had to take a couple days away from the computer this weekend just to try to reset. I need a new daily planner and I have been eyeing that Emily Ley although I feel like I might need it broken down more. Sorry for commenting ALL at once. I read your posts everyday on my iPhone when I am nursing and I find it so frustrating to comment on my iPhone. So I have to do it all at once when I sit down and have the time.
Annie- All Things Big And Small
This post couldn't have come at a better time. I have been feeling so stretched lately. Between literally painting nonstop, to trying to blog, and trying to be present with the kids everything has been sliding and overwhelm has been nonstop. I had to take a couple days away from the computer this weekend just to try to reset. I need a new daily planner and I have been eyeing that Emily Ley although I feel like I might need it broken down more. Sorry for commenting ALL at once. I read your posts everyday on my iPhone when I am nursing and I find it so frustrating to comment on my iPhone. So I have to do it all at once when I sit down and have the time.
Annie- All Things Big And Small