HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU’RE FEELING OVERWHELMED

. DO YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF FEELING OVERWHELMED BY WORK, YOUR BLOG OR LIFE? .

Feeling overwhelmed is something that i’m sure more and more of us are faced with feeling on a regular basis, and something that todays demanding industries unfortunately create due, not to mention the pressure we create with our ambitions and drive for success in everything we do.

Being overwhelmed is not nice, in fact it can be debilitating, can stop you thinking clearly, can cause you to panic and stress and generally just puts a negative filter on any situation making it much harder to cope with. Whilst the environments and the demands we work under are unlikely to suddenly change, what can change is how we cope in these situations and what we do to manage periods where we feel overwhelmed.

Today I wanted to share 5 pieces of advice, to help you cope when you’re feeling overwhelmed. I hope you find them helpful and i’d love to hear your advice too!

HOW TO COPE WHEN YOU’RE FEELING OVERWHELMED

#1 MAKE A LIST

When you feel overwhelmed it’s usually because there’s too much going on, too much being asked of you, too much to deliver, and simply not enough time to do it. Feeling overwhelmed is definitely something that happens to a lot of people working in demanding industries like media / advertising, law and finance. For me the easiest way to take check when i’m feeling overwhelmed is to simply make a list of all the things i’ve got going on … from there I have a much clearer view on what needs doing, what needs prioritising and what needs to be pushed back or challenged.

So first things first, get a clear view of what is going on, and what needs doing by when! it’ll help you, but also provide the business with a clear view on tension points.

#2 BE CLEAR 

Once you have a clear view on all the things to be done, or the list of things causing you to feel overwhelmed, figure out where the pressure points are, what is causing the tension (is there a bottleneck or no time to deliver on the work or tasks), and of course have a think about what it is you actually need to make things better. Do you need some help or support, do you need to move a deliverable or do you simply need to ask for something to be taken off of you?

Have a clear view on what is going  on, where the pressure is, why their is a problem, and what you need to resolve the issues.

#2 SPEAK TO SOMEONE

Once you’ve done that, speak to someone. If you work in a company talk to your boss, if it’s to do with your social life speak to friends and family and explain how you’re feeling and what you need to change to make things manageable, or whatever the situation is, find someone to talk to, to share your situation and seek support and advice.

Nothing will change unless you do something about it, unless you flag the issues and make a suggestion for how it could be resolved

#4 REMEMBER YOU

In all this, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed or panicked, just remember that the number one priority is of course you. Your health, your wellbeing, your happiness. Nothing is worth you breaking over, and so at some point you must just take a moment to stop, and prioritise you.

Factor in some time for a break (breaks are really important), stop and have a long bath, or even just try and factor in some time off, so you have something to look forward to, the light at the end of the tunnel.

#5 TAKE CONTROL

But the best tip of all … is to take control. By doing steps 1-4 what you’re really doing is taking control of the situation, managing it, and making sure that what originally felt super overwhelming, now feels okay, possible, manageable.  But like I said, to turn the situation around, you must take control.

If you found this post helpful, you might want to check out my other career and health advice posts:

| How to banish your stress | Why you need a break | How to feel more confident at work | How to improve your day, everyday | How to be more happy | How to unwind from work | How to Juggle a crazy schedule | And MORE |

Do you often feel overwhelmed at work or generally? What do you do to cope with it?