Ok, so you probably clicked on this because you are currently overwhelmed, or it’s happened recently. 

This blog will not be an exhaustive list of reasons or solutions. Plus, if you’re overwhelmed right now, listing all the reasons why you’re overwhelmed might be like drinking from a fire hose.

I’m going to focus on a few practical reasons and solutions.

Let’s start with the phone or computer that you are reading this on. Do you frequently have multiple tabs or apps open at once? Do you have a constant stream of notifications that pop up while you’re trying to focus on something else? If you answered yes, then making your phone or devices less distracting is probably a helpful place to start.

Let’s imagine you are trying to be productive, and you see a notification for social media or a headline. Then you delete it from your locked screen, but your mind is now probably wondering what you just read, and it will take some effort to refocus on what you were trying to do. You can not attend to all of those tabs or notifications at once; this can make it difficult to focus, and over time can contribute to feeling overwhelmed.

For some more ideas on how to make your phone less distracting, check out this video:

Another reason might be that you struggle with managing your time. You don’t have a clear start and end time for your workday or tasks. So then, during that long stretch, you find that it’s hard to stay focused, and so you take lots of breaks or get distracted. Maybe you’re overwhelmed trying to decide which task to start first on or how to motivate yourself to get started. Perhaps one way to help you stay motivated is to start making a repeating calendar that blocks off the times you want to take a break or unwind for the night, then protect those breaks.

Sometimes defining when you want a break can create the urgency to get things from overlapping into your personal time. An example might be to have a clear stop time at 9 pm to unwind, read, or enjoy some relaxation time before bed.

For more ideas on how to manage your time, check out this video:

Written by: Dustin Ellis