{"id":31728,"date":"2015-03-30T20:44:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T04:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=31728"},"modified":"2015-04-02T20:39:22","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T04:39:22","slug":"5-ways-create-overwhelm-thats-right-fault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-ways-create-overwhelm-thats-right-fault\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways You Create Your Overwhelm (That\u2019s Right, It\u2019s Your Fault)"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/p>\n

So how are you? No, let me guess.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re crazy-busy. Overwhelmed by your \u2018to-do\u2019 list, overburdened by demands, and overtired from racing around trying to get everything done.<\/p>\n

You keep thinking you just have to work smarter, and maybe put in a bit more effort, and you\u2019ll get over the \u2018hump\u2019.<\/p>\n

Then things will get back to normal.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019ve been trying to get over the hump for months.<\/p>\n

You like being busy, but this is ridiculous.<\/p>\n

The sheer volume of information and demands is, well, overwhelming.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re too busy and overwhelmed to work out how to get yourself out of this mess.<\/p>\n

Sounds like your life is one big, crazy, endless cycle of demands.<\/p>\n

Your life is too precious for you to be stuck in this vortex.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it, being constantly overwhelmed sucks. Big time.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the thing that no one will tell you. You could be contributing to the problem.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right. This situation could be down to you.<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0You\u2019ve Become A Go-To Person<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Go-To people are great, but you don\u2019t want to be one.<\/p>\n

Go-To people take responsibility seriously. They have high standards, want to do the right thing, and want to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a Go-To person, people know that no matter how busy you are, you won\u2019t let them down. You\u2019ll get the thing done.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, your reputation is keeping you busy. It\u2019s keeping extra tasks and extra responsibilities coming in the door.<\/p>\n

And part of you feeds on it. You feel important because people need you, and you\u2019re efficient.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019re drowning in responsibilities, so you have stop this. Now.<\/p>\n

I know your standards are high, and you\u2019re concerned that other people won\u2019t do things as well. But they deserve the opportunity to try.<\/p>\n

Instead of doing things for others, offer to show them how to do them themselves. Sure, it will take longer in the short term, but they\u2019ll become more self-sufficient, and soon there will be less for you to do.<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0You Fall For False Hustle<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Do you ever find yourself thinking, \u201cI was really busy today, but I don\u2019t seem to have achieved a lot\u201d?<\/p>\n

We all have days like that, but if they\u2019re happening frequently you could be experiencing False Hustle.<\/p>\n

Maybe you\u2019re trying to keep your in-tray clear, you\u2019re trying to answer all your emails, or you\u2019re devoted to other time consuming, but ultimately fruitless tasks.<\/p>\n

Maybe you receive requests for lots for urgent tasks each day.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reason, you have to limit your time on these small tasks, or you\u2019ll lose your whole day doing them.<\/p>\n

The key is to spend most of your day on things that are important. Important to you, or important to the work of your team, or important to the organization.<\/p>\n

Even with small, quick, \u201cIt will only take 5 minutes to finish\u201d tasks, you should ask yourself whether they\u2019re important. The answer may be \u2018yes\u2019 to a few of them, but anything you can put a \u2018no\u2019 next to, reduces your workload.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not sure whether something is important, ask yourself if anyone has committed to it.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve committed to be at your daughter\u2019s athletics carnival, then that\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

If you or your team have committed to producing results in a certain area, then it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

If no one has committed to the action, then it\u2019s probably not important.<\/p>\n

By focusing most on important tasks, you\u2019re being strategic, and working smarter.<\/p>\n

Remember: an empty In-Tray is a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0You Take On Too Much<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You\u2019re interested in everything, and you love to please.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s at work, or at home, you love being involved.<\/p>\n

If the local community want you to deliver neighbourhood newsletters, or your boss wants to start a new project, you\u2019re there.<\/p>\n

If the school wants your help fundraising, they can rely on you.<\/p>\n

But I have to ask you, are you thinking straight? How often do you consider your availability before you jump in so enthusiastically?<\/p>\n

Right now you should not be saying \u2018yes\u2019 to anything else.<\/p>\n

Start flexing that \u2018no\u2019 muscle so you can get your life back in control. If \u2018no\u2019 is too hard, you can try something softer like, \u201cI\u2019d like to help, but I don\u2019t have time right now\u201d.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve tried it once, I guarantee you\u2019ll love the power that comes from having control over your life.<\/p>\n

That in itself will make you happier.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0You\u2019re Too Busy To Plan<\/strong><\/h4>\n

You \u2018don\u2019t have time\u2019 to file, or organise, or plan. You\u2019re too busy, so you just jump in and start doing things.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re a person of action, and you\u2019re great at getting the ball rolling.<\/p>\n

But you spend a lot of time searching for things, because you\u2019re not organised. And you sometimes waste time doing things in the wrong order, or worse still, doing things that don\u2019t need doing.<\/p>\n

So later on, you incur delays because you weren\u2019t efficient.<\/p>\n

You need to take the time to get organised. You must discipline yourself to store important files, and plan your work.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t you, end up looking like a hamster, running on a wheel. You\u2019re using a lot of energy, but ultimately making no progress.<\/p>\n

And you\u2019ll get burnt out doing it.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0You Live In The Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You\u2019re overwhelmed by what\u2019s coming. You\u2019re not sure if you\u2019re going to be able to handle the enormity of the task or project, when it comes to fruition.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not sure if you should start a thing, because you\u2019re scared of what it might become.<\/p>\n

The trick is not to think about tomorrow, just focus on what you can achieve today.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s say you decide you want to run a marathon, but then you start to feel daunted by the amount of training involved.<\/p>\n

You worry about your knees, and your back, and your asthma. You start getting all freaked out \u201cbecause-it\u2019s-so-much-work-how-will-I-ever-get-there \u2026..\u201d.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s overwhelming. So you wonder if you should stop, before you ever really got started.<\/p>\n

Instead, you need to think, \u201cRight now I don\u2019t have to run a marathon. Right now I just need to be able to walk around the block without getting puffed out.\u201d<\/p>\n

You need to focus on the immediate, small steps (pardon the pun) that you need to take now. The small steps that you CAN achieve.<\/p>\n

Focus on the piece of the project that you can achieve now, and have faith that you\u2019ll be ready for each step as it arrives.<\/p>\n

The Harsh Reality of Overwhelm<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The truth is that we all deal with overwhelm every day. It\u2019s just a matter of HOW you deal with.<\/p>\n

Do you let it suck you into the vortex of trying to get it all done, or are you strategic?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m guessing you\u2019re strategic.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s how to think about your life, and all the stuff you\u2019re trying to cram into it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a smorgasbord, or a buffet.<\/p>\n

There are endless options and possibilities, all laid out, begging to be chosen. All the demands of the workplace are there, along with the demands of your family and home life.<\/p>\n

You dreams and aspirations are there as well.<\/p>\n

Now, I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve noticed, but most people are not great at selecting from a smorgasbord.<\/p>\n

Everything looks so enticing that they overfill their plate, and then they overfill their bellies.<\/p>\n

They make themselves uncomfortable by gorging, and they create a lot of waste.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t make sensible decisions, and when they\u2019re done, they regret their choices.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re cleverer than that.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t allow the buffet to overwhelm you.<\/p>\n

You can take the best of what\u2019s on offer, and pace yourself.<\/p>\n

You can select the most important options from the work demands, and the richest and most enjoyable selections from your family and home life.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t overfill your plate, and you won\u2019t allow yourself to become uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

Because you\u2019re here to enjoy yourself.<\/p>\n

And you know that you can always go back for a little more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cate Scolnik is on a mission to help parents stop yelling and create families that listen to each other. She does this while imperfectly parenting two boisterous girls of her own, and learning from her mistakes. Download her free Cheat Sheet to Get Your Kids from “No” to “Yes” in Three Simple Steps<\/a> and reduce your yelling today.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The truth is that we all deal with overwhelm every day. It\u2019s just a matter of HOW you deal with. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":31788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,21,112,6],"tags":[4197,3969,66,207,4629],"yoast_head":"\n5 Ways You Create Your Overwhelm (That\u2019s Right, It\u2019s Your Fault)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Overwhelm overwhelmed sucks, big time. But here\u2019s the thing that no one will tell you: You could be part of the problem. 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