Feeling overwhelmed? Let me simplify it for you.

You know that feeling when everyone else thinks you are nailing it but you feel like you are barely keeping the plates up in the air? 

That was me this week. 

As someone who has lived by a very structured schedule my whole life, there are days when I feel completely overwhelmed by my new life of entrepreneurship.

To add to it, I was also feeling like a fraud because, in my last newsletter, I was all angelic talking about how to lean in and lean out so you had a better work-life balance! 

Pfff! I’m eating those words this week!

But then I came across this awesome image by Eric Partaker and remembered that I am not a machine! I am showing up and that is what is important. 

As is self-compassion. We can’t be nailing it all the time!

But we do need to get back in the driving seat and keep going.

So this week I want to share with you some simple, non-overwhelming ways I use to get back in the driving seat when I’m feeling like this:

Step 1: Do a brain dump

Get a piece of paper, and pen and write out everything you have to do. Tasks that need doing, people you need to speak to, things you need on the grocery list, phone calls you need to return, meetings you need to prepare for, school newsletters you need to read - EVERYTHING! Just purge it all out. 

By doing this you reduce the mental load you are carrying around with you. If it’s written down, you know it’s somewhere and you can stop stressing yourself out trying to remember it.

Step 2: Prioritize

If you are anything like me, I sometimes delay doing the really important but harder-to-do stuff and mess around with the easier-to-do but not-so-important stuff. 

Not a good use of your energy and time!

Instead, use this matrix to help you organise your brain dump:

Step 3: Forward Planning

Ok, so now we know what we should be focussing on, it’s time to set ourselves up for success. This is done with some quiet alone time and some forward planning.

Have a look at your calendar for the next week and block out some non-negotiable time to tackle the big important stuff that requires deep work and most importantly, focus. This can be anything from exercise to working on that project that means so much to you.

If you don’t block time for what is important in your work and life, you will easily fall into the trap of being busy but not getting anywhere.

Start getting into the habit of time-blocking! It’s a game changer!

And that’s it - simple. The goal here is to not lean into more work because piling more on and trying to do it all, all the time just doesn’t work. We aren’t machines.

As one of my favourite sayings goes “Work smarter, not harder”

Have a great weekend!