What do you do when you’re overwhelmed?
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Before all else, I must admit two things.
First, I’m not superhuman. That felt horribly egotistical to even say, but I’ve got a true reason for putting the first thing first. I want you to know that I’m not superhuman so that you truly believe that you can do this too.
When I look at others who are accomplishing a lot, I immediately assume that they’re freaks of nature. They must have a gene I don’t have, I’ll think. Maybe they actually do (here’s looking at you, Gary Vaynerchuk), but they most likely don’t. We tend to think that we’re the only ones with insecurities or weaknesses. That belief comes out especially strong when we’re looking at people “more successful” than us.
But the truth is that every sane person has insecurities. And another truth is that the person who you think is bullet-proof is probably thinking the same thing about the people “ahead” of them! Insecurities are both universal and relative: most everyone has them, and they’re measured against bigger successes.
Ok, so I’m not a superhuman. On to the next confession.
Second, I’m not immune to disorganization and overwhelm. Fact-check anyone who claims to be so! Actually, I’m slightly disorganized and overwhelmed at this very moment. I’m currently in a plane somewhere between Austin, TX, and Atlanta, Georgia. One of my best clients is mad at me for being tardy on a project, one of the other businesses is losing a little bit of momentum, and I’m a little bit behind on emails.
But here’s the thing: I know what to do to get back on track.
Being organized is like shooting a free throw. No matter how much you polish you shot, you can’t hit them all. Still, you know how to do it. So it’s back to the basics.
That’s all this is: basic.
Feeling overwhelmed is horrible.
When I feel overwhelmed, my head feels like it’s hotter than the sun and heavier than a boulder. I can’t switch my brain off. In the quiet moments, I’ll begin to think about everything I need to get done. But it’s not exactly clear how I’m going to get those things done.
My thoughts turn into a tangled bowl of spaghetti.
Does that happen to you, too?
When it happens to me, I remind myself of the root of overwhelm: disorganization.
“There’s no such thing as overwhelm; there’s only disorganization,” said the speaker guy on stage. I wish I could remember who said it, because I’d thank him a thousand and one times.
Think about this.
When we’re overwhelmed, it’s not always because we have too much to do. Really, it’s because we don’t know what to do first.
I think the key to combating overwhelm is to get organized. On that note, here are the ways I get organized.
- Map it all out.
My brain gets cluttered pretty easily.
When I’ve got a ton of tasks and ideas swimming around up there, I take the time to write them all down on paper. I write every single thing down; every task, project, and to-do gets dumped into a notebook. One thing I could do better is to take this as a proactive measure, rather than a response to feeling overwhelmed.
There’s something soothing about seeing everything listed out on a sheet of paper. When I’m overwhelmed, I don’t feel like I can get everything done. When I list everything out, I get the feeling that everything is within my grasp.
Of course, you don’t have to write these down like I do.
If you’re more visual, then create a mind map. If you’re into note cards or sticky notes, use those. There are even some cool apps that can help you map everything out.
The point is to untangle everything that’s in your brain.
- Ask these three questions.
Once I have everything listed and mapped out, I ask myself three questions.
First, What can I eliminate?
I go through my list and cross out every task or activity that I don’t need to do. I look for the things that really don’t move the needle for me. Sometimes I surprise myself with what I cross off. These are the things that seem important until they’re measured up against other things.
Let me give you a recent example of something I crossed off: daily Instagram posts. While they were fun, they weren’t translating into sales. Goodbye. Next question.
Second, What can I delegate?
Look at what’s left. Of the remaining tasks, what are some things that need to be done but not necessarily by you? Circle those things.
I’ve got teams that work on every project I have, and I leverage virtual assistants to take care of some aspects of every project.
At first, it was emotionally difficult to let go of certain responsibilities. I was under the impression that I could do it better than anyone else, and that prevented me from delegating tasks. But I ran into a wall. While it may have been true that I was better at those things than someone else, I was attempting to be awesome at a billion things.
The end result was that I was awesome at none, lackluster at most, and burned out.
One of the books that’s very helpful on this topic is The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss. Take a peek at that book when you get a chance.
Circle the things that you could potentially delegate, and move onto the next step.
Third, What can I turn into a process?
Take a look at what you’ve circled. Take each one and list out the steps required to complete the task. Write those steps as if you were training a new employee or virtual assistant, because that’s what they’ll eventually be used for.
If you can easily plot out each step, then you’ve created an opportunity to immediately delegate that to someone else.
Personally, I delegate the simplest repeatable tasks—like data entry or Internet research—to virtual assistants for a few bucks. While it takes a chunk of time up front to create really good instructions, your reward comes in the form of time. Time is the most important resource you’ve got, and it needs to go towards your most important things.
For the tasks that aren’t as easily plotted out, I usually do two things after that. I’ll either throw it up to my team and look for ways to make the process smoother, or I’ll throw it out.
Staying focused on the systems in the business is crucial to me.
- Prioritize priorities.
I’ve ditched the quest for balance and replaced it with the hunt for priorities.
This has been a few years in the making, but the tipping point came after listening to Roger Whitney talk about finances over the weekend.
There’s a distinction between balance and priorities that can make a world of difference.
When we talk about balance, we’re talking about an equal amount of weight that’s applied to each side of a scale. To balance, the two sides must equal out. But when we talk about priorities, we’re thinking instead about which weight is the most valuable for us to carry.
On a micro level, we can apply these to every aspect of our lives. I prioritize things in my businesses and give those my complete effort. I do the same with relationships.
On a macro level, I prioritize family and friends over work.
Personally, I’ve noticed that I’m most overwhelmed when I get the macro level wrong. I’ll get myself completely out of whack, and every micro level beneath it suffers. My priorities may be different than yours, but the rule still holds.
When you’re overwhelmed, make sure you’ve prioritized your priorities.
- Give yourself finish lines.
When I feel overwhelmed with things, I often feel as if I’m running a sprint with no finish line.
So after I’ve gone through the first three steps, I’ll set finish lines on projects. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the project is finished. But it gives me something to shoot for. Seeing progress is just as important as making progress.
For example, one of my businesses operates almost completely on sales calls. Staring down a list of leads that’s a mile and a half long can seem, well, overwhelming.
We break it down into smaller chunks, which we measure in terms of quality conversations per day. When we cross the finish line, we end the race and move onto the next item on the list. It helps us stay motivated while doing tough work.
Getting overwhelmed is easier than avoiding it.
It’s easy to say YES to new projects and head in new directions.
There’s not always something wrong with saying YES to new things, but it’s a mistake not to organize them in a way that keeps you effective.
Stay organized, and prioritize.
Happy hustling!
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Photo: Flickr/Kris Carillo