A cause of our overwhelm

Productivity techniques abound for organizing our email and managing our day, but there’s a BIG contributor to overwhelm that we may overlook.

We have too much ‘on the go’ at the one time: ‘too many planes in the air’; ‘juggling too many balls’.

These sayings we use to explain overwhelm are so true !

Too much up in the air, unfinished, not landed or not done.

The problem is less about our ‘to do’ list being too long and more about how many things from the list we’re doing at once.

We inch ahead on too many tasks simultaneously, diluting our efforts ... and our attention. Our mind is full of everything we’re juggling.

These are the classic conditions for overwhelm. No wonder we feel buried, overwhelmed or inundated.

A better way of working is to reduce the number of tasks we’re working on.

‘Stop starting / start finishing‘ is an often-used mantra for this better way of working.

If you lead a team, help them prioritise and reduce the number of things they’re working on.

And if you’re your own boss or run your own business, experiment with your focus ... on fewer things.

You’ll then be in a powerful position to get the upper hand on overwhelm.

Get going or slow down

Do you need something to give you a push along ... to get you going?

Or do you need something to slow you down?

Being stuck ain’t fun. Frozen in possibility and uncertainty. There are plenty of reasons why it’s hard to get going with an idea or project.

But equally, running or flying too fast for too long can become a problem too.

There are subtle adjustments we can make and actions we can take to get going and get out of inertia. It’s a firing up, an ignition, the acceleration.

At other times we need some adjustment of speed, slowing down, a deceleration towards a speed that is more restful or ... simply sustainable.

More more more
faster faster faster
isn’t
better better better.

No matter what the world is pushing on you.

Getting started on something else might be better.
Going a little slower might be better.

Which do you need?

I’m currently slowing down. And you? Let me know...

Change your environment

You’re not broken. You don’t need fixing. You’re not hopeless. You’re awesome!

When we struggle to do something we may get frustrated with or blame ourselves ... or others.

But neither of us may be at fault.

Check your environment, your set up and location, the way you’ve arranged things or set them up.

You can tweak and change things. Even the tiniest change might make a big difference for you. And for them.

More light. Less space. A different angle. A tidy area. Some favourite items. Moving some books. A different chair. A different view. An earlier start. An earlier finish! A change in routine.

All of these things can help us get out of an environmental rut.

If it’s not quite working for you, don’t give up or give in: change something - a little thing - about the environment you’re in.

It could be one little shift towards a big new way.

The world needs us to think and work differently

Here’s a resource full of ideas, inspiration and practical wisdom on how to do that. 

It’s all coming together in the full colour book ‘Better Ways of Thinking and Working’. 

I’ve collected, selected and edited many of the ideas I’ve shared that are relevant for these times of change, evolution and revolution. 

Now they’re coming together in the one place. 

Order via my website or shop 

‘BETTER WAYS OF THINKING & WORKING: How changing the way you do things, changes what you can do’. 

Notice when you have an idea

Do you capture them... the ideas and thoughts you have while you’re reading, listening or thinking? 

We overestimate the number of ideas we think we’ll remember. Our train of thought is interrupted with the mundane ... and boom, the thought is gone! 

Worry less about a perfect system for collecting ideas and start with ANY system! 

> Write a few words on a post it 
> Say a few phrases into a voice memo
> Jot a note in a journal. 

We undervalue the creative thoughts that come to us - either by not noticing them at all, or noticing them but judging them as unworthy.

Still after the perfect system? But having it may not mean you firstly notice when you’re having an idea! We can have a shed of tools and not use them. Or a device of apps we rarely tap!

The point is, to become more aware you’ve had an idea or thought that could be captured ... and could be useful in the future. 

Notice ideas and more ideas will come.