How to be productive when you feel overwhelmed is challenging, but not impossible. As I am writing this, I’m wrapping up a week where my baby did not take any naps, and I felt lethargic almost every day. Each day took strategic planning and constant resetting in order to get all my tasks done. I was tempted to give up many times.
You may have felt like giving up too, but this doesn’t have to be the only way to get through the day.
How we choose to move forward in our day is very much determined by our perspective. When feeling overwhelmed, I think we mainly choose one of two options: Give up, and tell ourselves we’ll never be able to get it together, OR ignore the overwhelming feelings and try to plow ahead. Neither of these extremes are helpful, and can lead to unhealthy thought patterns.
I think it’s important to realize how feeling overwhelmed can affect our ability to accomplish tasks throughout the day, BUT also to resist the idea that we are powerless to get anything done. In other words, it’s ok to recognize that “yep, today is a hard day, and nothing is going as expected” BUT, to then to step back and say what can I do about it? How can I still make today a good day, even though I feel stress or overwhelmed?
We all have bad days or weeks where we just feel too stressed or overwhelmed to even begin our day. Although some circumstances lending to our stress may be out of our control, we DO have control over how we use our time to best serve our purposes. One of the toughest things is knowing how to start your day, when the thought of being productive just seems too overwhelming. I’ve written out a system because when we are overthinking, sometimes we need to take out the processing part of completing tasks and just DO THEM. Here is one method you might helpful for how to be productive when you feel overwhelmed:
** The tips I am discussing are in the context of experiencing normal, day to day feelings of overwhelm. These are not suggestions for coping with serious mental health issues, clinical depression, or anxiety. Always seek professional advice for those areas.
Center Yourself for the Day
You wake up already feeling overwhelmed, anxious to begin the day that hasn’t started. Try to find time, if not immediately, then soon after you wake up, to focus, and center yourself for the day. I do this daily by completing my Bible reading in the morning. I understand that not everyone has the luxury of taking time to themselves in the morning. I usually wake up to my baby crying as my alarm clock. Take 5 minutes even, either when you wake up, at breakfast, or in the shower to mentally prepare for the day. If you have time to journal, I highly recommend writing down your thoughts. Why do you feel overwhelmed? What do you want to accomplish today? Mentally setting an intention for the day means you are taking a step to take control of your day, not letting your emotions or circumstances control you.
Make the Bed
Making the bed doesn’t take a lot of time or effort, but it makes a huge difference in how the rest of your room and home feels. Once you get one thing done, it signals to your brain that you CAN do something, and may encourage you to keep going. Sometimes it’s all about getting the ball rolling, and once you say to yourself “I did that, I can do more” you clear the path to continue during the day. It doesn’t have to be making the bed, just choose one simple, doable task that helps you feel accomplished, whether that’s putting last night’s clothes in the bin, creating a checklist for the day, or whatever you need to do. Take this first step.
Write Down Tasks You Want to Accomplish
Three to six tasks is usually recommended. That’s it. Even if you have a lot of things to get done, try to only write six max. Put them in order of most to least important. One reason we feel overwhelmed is because we feel like we have to check off a huge to do list every single day. Instead, focus on what’s important, time sensitive, and doable for you. Set yourself up for success my creating a realistic list of tasks, instead of a mile-long one you may not be able to finish.
Start with One task
Next, you’re going to focus on just one task at a time. If you have interruptions that’s ok! You may need to pause, but don’t get sidetracked my moving from task to task before one is finished. If you need to take a break, do it, but try to focus on that task as much as possible, and complete it before moving on to the next one. Getting distracted by your kids and attending to their needs is different than stopping to be one your phone in the middle of a task (me). Try to complete it then take a break after!
Set a timer
Tell yourself for the next 10, 15, or 30 minutes, you are going to do nothing except work on that one task. When we get overwhelmed, there’s a lot of brain clutter that can prevent us from starting a project or something we need to work on. A timer helps us focus our brains and gives parameters for our thoughts. You can put the overwhelming feelings on the back-burner for a minute and get the work done. When the timer is up, check in with yourself. chances are you will feel accomplished and encouraged to keep moving forward with your to-do list. Take a break, set the timer, and repeat.
Repeat
Go to the next task in your list. Set aside a time to do it. It doesn’t have to happen right away if you have distractions. Take a break if needed. If, at the end of your three-six tasks you are feeling good, by all means keep going! It’s best to start with smaller goals and feel accomplished when they are finished, and if you exceed your goal, then keep up the good work!
Hit the Reset Button
So, you’re going through your day, doing the tasks, but maybe you just can’t focus. Maybe you are still feeling overwhelmed or there are too many distractions, and you just can’t get into a rhythm. When I start feeling too overwhelmed to even decide what to do next, I take a mini reset. I pause, and take 5 or even 30 minutes to refocus. I might
- Put the baby in the stroller and go for a walk
- Get a snack, make some coffee
- Go for a drive
- Journal my exact thoughts in that moment
Sometimes it’s better to pause and collect you thoughts instead of just plowing ahead and ignoring the overwhelming feelings. Choose an activity that works for you and your kids if you have them to rest, refocus, then take another stab at the day.
Other Tips to Keep in Mind
Take a Break
One thing I hope to make clear is that productivity looks different in every season. There is no reason to feel guilty because you cannot seem to accomplish everything you set out to do. We do need to take into account how our stress and emotions affect our ability to accomplish simple tasks.
As a new mom, I have this awareness of how much mental energy is used throughout the day simply being aware of where my baby is at all times. That doesn’t even account for all the energy that goes to actually getting work done. It can be exhausting. However, I can have this awareness that a lot of my energy is being used and still find ways to accomplish tasks in a way that doesn’t suck the life our of me.
Make a playlist
Put some songs together and title it my “cleaning playlist”, or my “study playlist”, etc. These jams are reserved for when you get to work on those things you need to do. Music always puts me in a better mood and helps me focus on one task. Put on some music you love and have that as the background for crushing your day.
Have healthy boundaries
Know when to say no. Have boundaries with yourself, with time, and with others. If you need to take a break for the day, please do that. If putting your feet up while eating cheese and scrolling on Pinterest is what you need in order to get back to a place of health, then do that and don’t feel guilty! Again we do not want to fall inter either extreme, of either succumbing to feeling overwhelmed by throwing in the towel, OR feeling like you just need to keep going and ignore the stress in your life. Do you best, and take breaks as needed.
Recenter
At the end of the day, look back at what you accomplished. What are you proud of? Take a minute to acknowledge the hard work you did. Give yourself credit for pushing through a tough day. What could have gone better? If there was a particularly difficult moment in your day, is there something you could have done to make it better? If there wasn’t, accept it and move on. Realize you can only plan and organize so much. You won’t ever have a perfect day, but focus on what you CAN do. Focus on bringing your best YOU to each and every day, and let God do the rest.