Feeling overwhelmed? 6 steps to slow down and simplify

Life can feel overwhelming. Too many tasks on the list, choices, things in your head, commitments. Too much noise from social media, bombarded by messages and emails, a hostage to your phone. One antidote is to scale back and SIMPLIFY.

💭 Simplify your mind

A first defence against overwhelm is a brain dump. Take a blank sheet of paper and spend 5 minutes writing down every commitment, task and project on your mind. When you’re overwhelmed, tasks have a tendency to become bigger headaches than they actually are. The simple act of externalising thoughts (getting them out of your head and parking them somewhere new) helps clear your mind.

💭 Simplify communication

Stand up for your right to disconnect. We can feel a pressure to stay connected at all times. The more available we are, the more we set an expectation with others that we return messages coming at us immediately. Start with leaving your phone in another room or at home when you go out briefly, and build up from there. Check messages in set blocks rather than intermittently all day.

💭 Simplify social media

 Do you pop onto Instagram or other social media when you want a break from whatever else you’re doing? This is fine (I do it sometimes too). To avoid overwhelm set a limit for yourself. I let myself use social media for 10 minutes at lunch, another 10 minutes at that 3:30 pm slump, and another 10 minutes after dinner. Come up with some boundaries for yourself. Your brain will feel more focused, you’ll consume less noise, and you’ll feel more centred and calm throughout your day.

💭 Simplify commitments

Overstretched? If you’ve said yes too many times to too many things, select 3 or more things to cancel or postpone. Try a short, graceful message – no need to over-explain. “I know I said I could come to this, but I’ve got really busy and I’m not going to be able to make it. I’m sorry for cancelling last minute.”

💭 Simplify projects

Sometimes our ambitions are not realistic and mean we do not get things done and create stress and pressure for ourselves. To make things happen, make them simpler. Think about the MVP (minimal viable process) – an idea from product design. If you were to scale this back to the essentials what do you want to achieve? how could you make this easier? is there anything could you take away? Sometimes less is more.

💭 Simplify time

Create time to decompress. Find two hours per week that are just yours. They could be split up or in one block. The most important part is to schedule it in and treat it like an appointment. Write “time for me” on your calendar and hold to it like you would a meeting with your boss. Even if you think you can’t find this time, I challenge you to do whatever it takes to protect it. During your “time for me”, do anything that helps you feel calm and joyful.

When do you feel overwhelmed? What helps you? What would make life simpler? What is 1 action you might take today?