How To Prevent Overwhelm

Overwhelm. Too many choices, one more task, or one more comment that you didn’t want to hear. Boom! Its over! Your brain has lost it, it can’t figure out how to manage everything. 

Most of us will let our thoughts start down toward negativity and doom. You will only confirm that you can’t make the “right” choice, there are too many choices. You tell yourself, you knew you had to much on your plate and one more thing was going to make you loose it. That comment, only confirmed what you knew others were saying. 

Negative thoughts. Negative thoughts. Negative thoughts. You are now wanting to bury your head in the sand. You don’t want to make a choice because it could be wrong. If you could sleep the day away, you would, rather than take on the mound of work you have. 

You wish you could rewind and undue what is coming your way. Here are a few tactics to help you prevent overwhelm. Remember it is a state of mind and you have control of your thoughts. 

Prevent Overwhelm From Too Many Choices

Overwhelm happens when you have to many choices. This could be choices about one thing, like where you will study for your masters degree or get your MBA. Or it can be about the overwhelm of tasks, that you have to now fit into your schedule and you don’t know how. 

First, You Have to Reduce Your Choices

Overwhelm happens from you brain having too many choices to pick from and so its goes on the fritz and engages fear. To prevent it from going on the fritz, you eliminate the load you are putting on it. 

Whatever your options may be, I am sure you could always add more. The key is not to. Limit how many options you will let yourself have. We do it all the time for other people, we give 3 options for dinner, or 2 options for a gift. We eliminate the possibility of them getting stuck and not choosing because of overwhelm. 

You, give yourself a cut off point of how many options you will have. You use a schedule to mark out time you are not available for projects at work. You eliminate what times are available for certain tasks. 

You narrow down the choices and options that are available and you will experience less overwhelm. Now it will still happen. But, there is another way to help eliminate it even more. 

Be Kind To Your Mind 

The thoughts we tell ourselves matter. The negative thoughts will only make you more easily fall into the trap of overwhelm. 

“If I get one more thing to do I will be so overwhelmed.”

“I am so stressed.”

“I have no time to do what I want to do.”

“I am going to be so overwhelmed by the end of the week.”

All of these statements will provide zero value to your life. ZERO! So, do not have them playing on repeat in your mind. You will slide into overwhelm so easily. Your freak out moment will be at the grocery store in front of the 50 options of cereal, trying to pick one for dinner.

Continue Your Self-Care

When we are drained we are more susceptible to negative thoughts. We beat ourselves up, put ourselves down, and all around start be mean to ourselves. When we have enough sleep, eat good food, exercise, laugh, journal, meditate we are just happier people with happier thoughts. 

Keep taking care of yourself. It will help prevent overwhelm in the future. If you are struggling with overwhelm and would like to receive some coaching, I am offering one on one coaching session for free, Overcome Your Overwhelm. Sign up, today.