What to do when you're stuck in overwhelm by Studio Break The Loop

What To Do When You’re Stuck In Overwhelm

Date: Jul 28, 2019

What to do when you're stuck in overwhelm by Studio Break The Loop

We’ve all been there… full of dreams and aspirations and to-do lists as long as our arms and all of a sudden we find ourselves scattered and unable to focus on any one task. We so desperately want to make the right choice, to be efficient, to move the needle forward in our business that we begin to overthink the details and lose sight of the big picture. Before we know it analysis paralysis has kicked in and we’re officially stuck in overwhelm.

Now, all we can focus on is what we’re not doing, or even worse, what everyone else is doing. Here’s the good news… A) It happens to the best of us – trust me, I’d know! B) We can avoid becoming stuck in overwhelm, just like we work our muscles in the gym – practice, habit, rinse and repeat.

If you’re currently overwhelmed AF and struggling to see the wood from the trees, so to speak, here are 3 tried and tested actions you can take that will help to create clarity, fast.

Reframe things to help drag you out of panic and into a more positive mindset.

I was chatting to one of my coaches after a particularly heavy bout of overwhelm and as I explained to her how I was feeling and how I was self-sabotaging and not getting anywhere. She immediately jumped in, with more than a hint of excitement in her voice, and said – ‘this is great, it usually means that some massive growth is right around the corner.’

It wasn’t what I was expecting her to say and it caught me off guard in the best way. I felt a bit of the tension melt away as I opened myself up to the possibility that actually I wasn’t just totally useless and that I’d get to experience the progress I was looking for, very soon, if I just kept moving forward. That shift in perspective and mindset meant that I woke up the next day, clear-headed, focused and ready to go!

So, if you’re currently feeling stuck and bogged down, just take a deep breath and know that change is coming!

Put those blinkers back on and spend a little time getting reacquainted with your ‘big vision’.

Often, when we’re overwhelmed and unfocused, it’s because we’ve allowed ourselves to become too distracted with what we think we should be doing or what everyone else is doing. It’s time to refocus and get laser clear on what we want out of our life and business. Once you’ve reminded yourself of exactly what you’re working towards, I can guarantee it will make all those other small decisions that we have to make day-to-day that much easier.

You will know where best to direct your focus to help move you along the path toward achieving your big vision.

Ditch the to-do list to ditch the overwhelm.

Ok, fine, not entirely, however, I’m a firm believer in that having anything more than 3 to 4 tasks on your to-do list, with one of those tasks being a relatively ‘big’ job, will just leave you feeling either defeated or burnt out. Neither is a good look.

In addition to that, I would really try to gain some clarity around how and when you work best… Take me for example, I know that I work best first thing and that I have a total mental / energetic slump around 2 pm/3 pm. So, I work on all of my ‘big’ tasks first thing and I save 90% of my admin for that mid-afternoon lull because I know that I need minimal creative energy for emails.

If you keep a close eye, I can guarantee that you’ll notice your own rhythms and energy shifts and as with our strengths, we really will get the best results if we play to them instead of fighting against them.

Do you ever find yourself getting stuck in overwhelm? If so, how do you drag yourself out of it, I’d love to know so that I can add to my arsenal of tips, tools and tricks!

If you want to get in touch about anything design related then drop me a message via the contact form HERE.

And if you liked this post, found it helpful or, think that someone you know might then please share using the buttons below!

  1. Love this! I’ll tell ya what got me through my dissertation… focusing on what I HAD DONE over what I hadn’t. I kept a diary (a notebook lol) and on days where I had minimal time, I would make notes of ideas, thoughts, and then on other days I would keep note of what I had done… who I emailed, what journal I found, etc etc, then I really started to notice how much I was doing in the times it felt like I was making no progress. The little bits added up…. which meant finishing my overall project has been much more chilled than I imagined it would be xoxo

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Must READS

Previous
//
Next
A step by step guide to switching from Flothemes to Showit

The recent announcement of Flothemes’ closure, and let’s be real, the not-so-great way they handled it all, has sent ripples through the digital community. For the designers and agencies that have built their businesses around offering websites built on Flothemes, this has serious ramifications and to not give more notice or offer more support is […]

Stuck in a content creation rut? Here are 5 tips to get you back in the groover

Look, we’ve all been there—staring at a blank screen, the cursor blinking back at us, maddeningly. 😒 Especially after taking some well-deserved time off, jumping back into the content creation game can feel like trying to start a car that’s been sitting in a cold garage all winter. So, if you’re feeling a bit “meh” […]

Get ready to celebrate your launch with 5 Actionable Tips to Get Your Website Ready for Launch

If you’ve been procrastinating on launching your website, now is the time to take action. Your website isn’t just a digital business card or a vanity project; it’s a powerful tool that can drive revenue, build your community, and establish your brand. Here are five actionable website launch tips to get your site off the […]

How to spot nightmare clients

Jumping in here today to talk about something that, we believe, is pretttty important if you run your own business (or would like to) and that is… Nightmare clients. Nightmare clients – how to spot them (and then actually do something about them.) Sometimes, your financial situation dictates whether or not you take on a […]