Shine a Light on the Overwhelm You’re Experiencing

Sometimes you’re not exactly sure what’s causing your overwhelm. You just feel the sensation and because of the magnitude of that emotion, you can’t think straight. When you’re trying to pinpoint the things that are causing you overwhelm, it helps to slow down and get proactive in understanding it.

First, write down a list of all of the things you feel stressed out about. It could be business-oriented or something from your personal life. Don’t leave out small things because when you add them up, they can often snowball into much bigger issues.

If you had 2 big things in life stressing you out, and a million little things, it would still help you to handle those little items and alleviate some of the pressure on your shoulders.

Be very specific with what’s bothering you. For example, if it’s your finances, don’t just say money stress. Where in your finances are things making it difficult for you? Maybe your spouse is spending a lot of money on fast food or you’ve spent too much on tools and courses you haven’t even used.

Maybe it’s a concept overwhelming you, like the idea of launching your own product. Or, a daily stress like caretaking for an individual. Get specific about what it is in those areas that overwhelms you.

Is it the time commitment? Is it fear of the unknown or a lack of knowledge? Only once you have the exact pain point spotted can you make a formidable plan of action to address the issue.  

Create a Plan of Slow Progress

When you’re already overwhelmed, the last thing you want to do is add more to your plate. So when you sit down to make a plan, do it with the intention of slow integration into your life.

You don’t want the added pressure of trying to make everything perfect overnight because it won’t happen, and then you’ll be disappointed and more overwhelmed at your failure.

Your plan should be slow, but if you get ahead of your plans and make faster progress, that’s great! You’re just going to go for the bare minimum until your overwhelm subsides and you feel capable of dealing with more.

Take that list you created previously of what you own and what you need to get. Choose something to go through so that you can have an accomplishment under your belt. But don’t try to master an entire concept in one day.

Instead, take it slow. Read 1 page of an eBook. Do 1 module of a video course. Implement one bite-sized step in a project. You might scoff at going so slow, feeling inadequate when comparing yourself to others.

But before you took this slow and steady step, that course was simply sitting on your hard drive gathering dust. One page a day is far better than 0 pages per day. So give yourself credit for doing more than you did before.

Do the same for your personal life if there’s anything overwhelming there. For example, if you’re dealing with caretaking, make a single phone call per day or spend 15 minutes looking up online information you need to deal with the situation.

You don’t have to stress about picking the best issue to address. Remember the pool analogy. It doesn’t matter if you get in by walking down the steps, jumping off the diving board – or doing a belly flop into the water.

What’s important is that you’re doing something. This will enable you to let your head hit the pillow at night feeling accomplished – like a little more is off your plate, allowing you to breathe easier.

Overcoming Overwhelm Through Systemized Strategy

When you’re working on overcoming your overwhelm, you want to be strategic with everything you do. Having a strategy and support system in place will help you address these intense feelings quickly.

First, make a list of the people you’ll turn to whenever you encounter overwhelm with an issue. You need a support system – and it can be someone in your personal life or who you network with online.

You might list people on forums or social networking sites that you’re friends with. Or, it could be a spiritual leader, a close friend or family member. Make sure it’s the right person for that particular issue.

Make a bookmark list for certain topics of channels on YouTube where you can find help for both business and personal issues. For example, you might have a channel bookmarked for online traffic tips, and one for caretaking of Alzheimer’s patients if you’re in the same situation.

Choose trusted leaders who teach things you need to know – preferably people who will engage with those who comment on their videos or blog posts.  You want bookmarks of channels as well as groups or pages, blogs and other sites that provide information at your fingertips.

Feeling overwhelmed is a paint to have to deal with. But it’s not insurmountable. With a proactive approach, you can clear off many of the worries that are weighing you down and have a system in place to help you keep things working smoothly.

If you don’t spend a bit of time weeding this garden of overwhelm, and keep it up over time, you’ll always be lost in a jungle of chaos and confusion. So it’s important to revisit the strategic steps periodically to ensure success.

Ask yourself what your boss would say if he or she came and conducted a surprise inspection of your work efforts? You’re the boss in this scenario, but judge as if you weren’t.

If you’d bought a dozen courses but never implemented a single one, the accounting department would need a word with you and you’d likely get fired. It’s important to put your boss hat on every day and see if you’re living up to the standards of what it takes to be a successful online entrepreneur.