Reduce Your Overwhelm To Achieve Your Goals

Another reason why you don’t take action towards your goals is because you feel overwhelmed.  You’re overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you have to do.  Your brain goes into overdrive, spinning all these thoughts around which only causes you more stress.  You just don’t even know where to start.  So, you don’t.  It’s easier to just do nothing then to try and tackle the laundry list of things you need to do.  However, the list of things to do only continues to get longer and the overwhelm continues to build.  Here is how you can get organized and reduce your overwhelm so that you know exactly what to do in order to achieve your goals.

Notice When You’re Overwhelmed

The first thing you need to do is realize when you’re feeling overwhelmed.  Overwhelm can show up as having too much to do and not knowing where to start.  Or, maybe you’ve tried rushing around and going a million miles an hour to get as much done as you can.  Only to feel exhausted and wiped out because it doesn’t feel like you’ve made even a small dent in your to do list.  Perhaps you’ve completed some tasks and it hasn’t made much progress towards your goals.  So, you give up and choose to do nothing more.  Doing nothing isn’t going to make progress towards your goals.  It’s time to get organized and create an action plan to achieve your goals.

To Do List

Feeling less overwhelmed really comes down to getting organized.  Begin by making a list of all the things you need to do.  This step in itself will help you feel less overwhelmed.  Your brain is no longer struggling to remember everything you have to do.  You have it written down and you can visually see what things need to get done.  Next, give each task a rating if it must get done today, tomorrow, next week, or never!  Go through your list and see what you can delegate or eliminate completely.  Reduce your overwhelm by asking other people for help.  Maybe there are things on your to do list that you don’t have to do and someone else can.  Or, perhaps you thought you needed to do this task but it’s actually unimportant so you can just get rid of it entirely.  Then, look for the tasks that are a priority that must get done and will make progress towards achieving your goals.

Define Your Priorities

Get really clear on defining your priorities.  Think about what really needs to get completed.  Ask yourself what is the biggest needle moving task on your to do list.  Maybe you’ve been completing all these less important tasks so you feel like you’re accomplishing something but in reality, you’re not moving the needle very much.  You might have even been adding to your overwhelm by procrastinating on certain goal related tasks.  Instead of working on tasks related to your goal, you’re doing laundry, cleaning, or other tasks that have to get done but have nothing to do with making progress towards your big goal.  You’re working on all these low level tasks instead of putting your attention and effort into the tasks that will actually give you the biggest return.  Prioritize your tasks and give each one a value.

High Priority Tasks

Perhaps one day you choose to knock out a bunch of low level tasks.  At the end of the day, check in and see how that feels.  It may have felt great to cross a bunch of things off your list but in reality, you might not have seen much progress towards your goals.  Instead, look at those bigger high priority tasks.  If those tasks feel overwhelming then break the task into smaller pieces.  Chunk the big task down into smaller tasks that will take you less time.  Then, knock those little tasks out.  Pay attention to when you feel the most accomplished and simultaneously see the biggest progress towards your goals.  This is the sweet spot where you want to be operating from so focus on doing more of that!

Tune inward and ask yourself what’s causing you the most stress.  If it’s feeling like you have too much to do and not enough time, then start by making a to do list.  Prioritize your tasks and focus on the things that are most important.  Maybe after all this, you realize you have been spinning your wheels on unimportant things.  See if you can eliminate these unimportant tasks and get them off your mind.  Work to declutter and do not be afraid to delegate.  Reduce your stress.  Notice how your mood feels better as you lighten your load.  Getting organized and having a plan to achieve your goals is what will help you keep your overwhelm at bay.

Take Action Challenge

Reduce The Overwhelm Reset

Step 1: Brain Dump Everything

Take 10 minutes to write down every task, responsibility, and commitment that's currently taking up space in your mind.  Don't organize it yet.  Just get it all out of your head and down on paper.

Step 2: Prioritize What Matters Most

Go through your list and label each task:

• High Priority – Moves you closer to your goal.
• Medium Priority – Important, but it can wait.
• Low Priority – Nice to do, but not essential.

Then, circle the ONE task that will make the biggest impact on your goal.

Step 3: Eliminate Or Delegate

Look for tasks you can:

• Eliminate completely
• Delegate to someone else
• Postpone until later

Lighten your mental load by letting go of what doesn't truly need your attention.

Step 4: Break Down Your Biggest Task

If your highest priority task feels overwhelming, then break it into smaller action steps that can each be completed in 15 minutes or less.

Progress feels much easier when you only focus on the next small step rather than a big, overwhelming, time consuming task.

Step 5: Finish One Needle Moving Task

Today, complete one task that meaningfully moves you closer towards your goal before working on the smaller, less important items.

At the end of the day, reflect on how it felt to make real progress instead of simply staying busy.