Overwhelmed At Work?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, or at home (or indeed at both given it’s the end of the summer hols!), then sometimes the simplest of things can have a big impact. 
I have used this tactic. I know this tactic works. When I am overwhelmed I forget this tactic over again….. So I shall write it sure to remind myself. Even if it serves nobody else!
The short answer to ‘how to deal with bring overwhelmed’ is to ‘Break it Down’. That’s it! And as I forget it every-time, I shall expand here so that I can embed it further.
If like me, your to-do list absolutely over-flowing, then this will help you. Firstly, ake the task that seems to big to even start, off your to-do list. Give it a page of its very own and break it down into its smallest parts.
Yes, I know, now you have TWO to-do lists; ‘not ideal’ I hear you say…. However, better two to-do lists, than one list with a series of tasks that get moved forward a day, every day!
So back to your new to-do list: break this task onto a minimum of ten smaller elements. If these need sub-elements then go on, indulge yourself….
Whet you have now created for yourself, instead of an on-going daily ‘fail’, is a whole series, a whole tick-list,  of achievements. These tasks listed will all be much more achievable. When you have achieved then, you can tick them off the list. To tick things off a list as a success is a much more positive mindset than that which comes from rescheduling a frightening task for the next day, over and over.
You may read this and think ‘this woman has far too much time on her hands’, but I would like to reassure you that I, like you, am juggling a home, a husband, children, a business, a multitude of clients, friend,  and, if I get half a chance, an unruly (!), garden, and this type of focusing STILL works for me.
I highly recommend the small amount of time needed to engage with this process, for the big leap of energy that comes from turning a repeating ‘fail’, into a series of small successes.
Explore here to learn more of career coaching with Rebecca and here to subscribe to her blog