What would change if you felt more in control of your workload and days?

A few years ago, when I felt overwhelmed with everything to do, I would double down on my efforts and hard work.

I would put in longer hours, push through the overwhelm, and tell myself that when I got all caught up THEN I would slow down and give myself a break.

But this approach was a VERY stressful way to live. And not very productive after all!

How about you? How do you typically respond when you’re feeling overwhelmed with everything to do?

The most common answers I hear are:

• Push harder, work longer, and beat yourself up for not doing more

• Procrastinate by starting, stopping, checking social media and doing anything except the important thing you need to do

• Sitting with your head in your hands, almost paralyzed and having trouble focusing with the stress of 100 other things on your mind

• Breaking out in tears or impatient with the people you love because the pressure to keep up with it all is getting to you

And you likely also tell yourself that when you get all caught up THEN you will give yourself a break!

None of these responses help you to feel better and keep you in a state of overwhelm.

And you end up not getting done the important things you need to get done (which just leads to more overwhelm).

First off, this is common and you're not alone and there is nothing wrong with you!

When demands for your time and attention come faster than your ability to keep up, the feeling of control goes away and overwhelm sets in.

But the truth is that when you are overwhelmed, you are:

• less focused and productive

• less calm and present

• more likely to make mistakes and tasks take longer

And it feels pretty crappy too!

Feeling overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing.

So now, when I feel overwhelmed, I do the exact opposite of what I used to do.

Instead of pushing harder and plowing through the overwhelm, slow down and do less (it will feel counterintuitive).

By slowing down and doing less, you can focus your time and attention on what really matters.

You can give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all.

You can learn to manage your mind to feel more calm and centered.

You can honor what you need rather than staying overwhelmed day after day.

You can feel better and experience more joy in the everyday moments.

And you can get back to feeling more in control of your day.

Knowing how to turn down the volume on overwhelm can improve your well-being and performance, and get you back to feeling calm and focused.

In a post on LinkedIn, I shared three (counterintuitive) ways to step out of the overwhelm when your plate is too full. 

Give it a read, and then let me know what would be most helpful for you right now?

You can be overwhelmed for 15 minutes or an hour, instead of day after day.

You get to choose!

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.