Are you one of those people who can’t seem to stop “doing?”
I was leading a group coaching session the other day with 10 interesting, diverse, and phenomenal women leaders. The subject up for discussion was how “overwhelmed,” beat, tired, and burned-out many of the members were feeling due to the “too much to do / can’t stop now” syndrome.
Are you one of those people who can’t seem to stop “doing?”
I have yet to meet anyone who hasn’t felt overwhelmed from time to time. Since this feeling tends to feel uncomfortable, if not downright unpleasant, we tend to view it as negative and as a weakness. We don’t dare admit we are overwhelmed or dare to talk about it, which can leave us feeling isolated and alone, further exacerbating the feeling. We often deny we are overwhelmed because we do not know how to stop the frenetic behavior that leads to this feeling. So we do nothing. Why do we do this to ourselves? Primarily, this syndrome occurs in our work life; however, it can carry over to our personal and family life, too.
The women in my group noted that focusing on projects often begins with good intentions. However, we can quickly and easily be overwhelmed if we do not have a plan to minimize and balance our work. Getting the project finalized for your team or completing the 90-day marketing plan are extremely important – and having a balanced, healthy life is equally important.
The following are helpful strategies gleaned from my personal experience and from my work with coaching clients who are burned out, frustrated and even depressed. These strategies immediately diminish feelings of being overwhelmed so you can refocus and make some work/life balance decisions.
- Stop what you are doing for a few minutes and take a break. Go for a short walk, sit outside under a tree, meditate, breathe deeply, go to a movie, call a friend to have coffee and share what is going on.
- Get a piece of paper and make two columns. In one column, list urgent things you need to do this week. In the other column, list those projects that you can delegate, hire or barter to be done.
- Eliminate, eliminate, eliminate. Unsubscribe to unnecessary e-mails, organize your desk and office to decrease clutter, stop attending meetings unless you are the only person who can attend, get off committees and decrease volunteering at fundraisers unless you have a total passion for the organization and the cause.
- Do not spend time with people whom you do not like. Assess your friends and business colleagues. Do they support and honor who you are? If they are negative and don’t share your vision for your dreams, don’t spend another minute with them.
- Decide what is most important in your life. If you want a balanced life, you will have to make changes in your life to allow this to happen. That takes some time and planning but it will be well worth the improvement in your life!
- Take an action step today to make a change in your life! Call a friend who will support you, take a class to get organized, or work with a coach who will support and motivate you to have a more balanced life.
Work with me
You already know that you no longer want to live an overwhelmed life. Perhaps you’re just learning that there are actually things you can do so you don’t live this life anymore. If you’re ready to explore working with a coach to shed the overwhelm in your life, click here and schedule a time to talk.