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10 Ways to Stop Feeling Overworked and Overwhelmed
Tame your distractions
Most people are distracted over 30 times an hour: phone calls, emails, texts, office drop-ins... The list is endless.
Schedule blocks of time when you'll turn off alerts. The only way to stay on schedule is to work on your own schedule--not on that of other people.
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Key Ideas
Start with a clean plate
If your plate were completely clean, with limited space, what would you put on it today?
Once you’ve figured that out, you know what belongs on your plate. Constantly loo...
Learn to say “NO”
Feeling like you’re doing busywork is often the result of saying yes too often. We have to let go of this idea of doing everything and pleasing everyone and being everywhere at once.
Properly manage your yeses. So stop saying “yes” when you want to say “no.” Sometimes you have to set clear boundaries.
3 Core things
Focus on no more than three core things every day.
Wake up every morning and figure out what the most important two or three things are for the day, and cut out the rest. Give each some allotted time instead of switching tasks.
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Key Ideas
When you’re feeling overwhelmed
You have so many things going on, that it is hard to concentrate on any one of them, and so you get less productive. The trick is to get yourself back in the sweet spot of the curve where yo...
Reduce your energy
If you’re actively feeling overwhelmed you first need to calm down. Close your eyes for a minute. Focus on breathing deeply. Count your breaths. An alternative is to get a little physical exercise. Take a walk.
The combination of the exercise and the separation from your workspace for a short period of time can help you to get into the zone to get work done.
Focus
Start by finding a high-priority task that you feel you can complete in a short period of time. Clear the decks for action and put away any other distractions.
Now, get to work. If you’re still having trouble concentrating, then just try to get a 5-10 minute burst of activity done. Find the smallest piece of the task that you can accomplish and get that done.
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Key Ideas
Excuse-making
It's a defense mechanism you use in the battle between your positive self-identity and the common challenges of everyday life.
This habit comes down to an inherent need to protect your...
The self-serving bias
It encourages you to claim your successes and to deflect your failures.
When something good happens, you take the credit, but when something bad happens, you blame it on something out of your control.
Common types of excuses
- Lies: This is one of the worst types of excuses—a straight-up lie.
- Self-handicapping excuses: Such as “I don’t have the skills to do that”, or “That’s not my job.”
- Blame-shifting excuses: Instead of putting the blame on your lack of abilities, you accuse external factors for your missteps or lack of performance.