How to Organize Your Life When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
If you are like most adults in America (possibly even the world) then you constantly feel overwhelmed with the amount of stuff you have to do on a daily basis. You are a hamster on a wheel, continually running and getting exhausted but not actually going anywhere. Trust me I know the feeling and how frustrating it is. Every time you tackle one item on your to-do list, you get 9 more added.
You feel as if there is no end in sight…
When you are feeling overwhelmed the first thing you need to do is breathe and realize that you are not alone. It happens to everyone! Taking just a minute or even a few seconds to just breathe (do some deep breathing) and regain your thoughts can really actually help to calm your nerves and help you think more rationally. Just breathe in….hold for a few seconds….now breathe out….and repeat a few times.
Now that you’re feeling at least slightly less stressed it’s time to dive into the organization part.
Organizing can feel like a daunting task, but if you just carve out a few minutes each day it can lead to significant changes.
1. First do you use a to-do list? Whether it’s a digital to-do list or a pen and paper to-do list it doesn’t matter as long as it works for you. If not, I recommend starting, as this really helps me feel less overwhelmed when I have everything out of my head and on paper. If you really don’t like the idea of to-do lists then I at least recommend that you try a brain dump. To do this just get a pen and paper or word document, if you prefer digital versions and write everything that is on your mind down, whether it’s something that you need to do now or in the future, appointments, etc. just get it out of your head and write it down. Spend about 10-15 minutes doing this. Then group the ideas into categories (i.e. home stuff, work stuff, kids stuff, goals, etc.). Next, prioritize anything that needs to be done today or should be done today and write it in a separate document or separate piece of paper. There’s your to-do list for today.
After you have your to-do list the most important thing to do is to prioritize! Prioritize! PRIORITIZE! Pick out the items that absolutely HAVE to get done that day. Pick the top three and put those at the top of your list. I know we may feel like everything on our list is important, but you need to force yourself to only pick three main things. Next, pick three items that SHOULD be done on this day. So if there is time after you accomplish your main three you can start working down the list. Lastly, if you have anything left on your list put it into a “would like to get done today” list. P.S. this last list should not have more than three items either. If it does then you are putting too much on yourself to get done in a day. Pick just three and the rest can wait until tomorrow.
Are you ready to bust out that planner?
If you want extra credit though and you use a planner. Put the rest of the items from your brain dump onto different days to accomplish for the week. Next the items that are left on your “brain dump” page are items that are either more long-term or are stuff that you would “like to do” but that doesn’t have to be done soon. You can refer back to this periodically when you have some free time to see if there is something else you can “cross off.” The main purpose is to just get everything out of your head so you don’t feel like you have to constantly remember what needs to be done and when. It might not seem like that big of a deal, but you have no idea how much “space” all of the things you are trying to remember can truly take up in your mind.
2. Routines. I know you’ve probably heard this over and over, but it really does help to eliminate overwhelm and helps you stay better organized when you have simple daily routines. *Notice* I said SIMPLE, you don’t need to make some ridiculously complicated routine otherwise you will likely never stick to it. Yes, I know it does take time to set up a routine especially if you are feeling overwhelmed already. I can hear you yelling at me saying “Mackenzie! I don’t have time to do anything! How am I supposed to find time to create and implement a routine!”
Trust me I get it, but you may not even realize that you probably have at least some kind of routine in your life already. Whether it’s just certain things that you always do in the mornings, evenings, etc. So it doesn’t have to be complicated, just build on and fine-tune what you already do. For instance, if you fix your kids lunches every morning, but your mornings are so hectic already with getting everyone dressed and ready for school; then try moving “prepping their lunches” to the night before, so that they are either ready to go for the morning or that you at least have less to do. Do this for at least a week to see if it truly does help you out during the morning and if it does then you can add it as part of your nightly routine, at least on weekdays.
It is also helpful to set up cleaning and decluttering routines. Write down all of the cleaning you do on a weekly basis. Then on a separate sheet or separate column list all of the cleaning tasks that are done more sporadically (i.e. cleaning the outside of the windows, cleaning the cars, cleaning baseboards, etc.). Fill in a schedule with your weekly cleaning tasks. If you don’t have a typical day that you do certain chores, then just pick a day and try it out for a week. If it doesn’t work for you, you can always change it for the following week. Once you have the daily and weekly chores (i.e. doing dishes, vacuuming, laundry, etc.) filled in then put some of the chores from your other list on a day or two. You don’t have to do a lot, just doing one or two of those more ‘deep cleaning’ chores a week can really relieve the overwhelm of seasonal cleanings.
Now let’s talk about that dreaded “D” word…yup…Decluttering…
Decluttering doesn’t have to be an exhaustive task, as long as you don’t just continue to let it pile up. Having a decluttering schedule doesn’t necessarily mean you have to declutter every week. Just take it little by little, especially if you have a lot of stuff piled up. If you try to tackle too big of a project, it may just frustrate and overwhelm you. Even just tackling one drawer at a time can help. You will eventually be able to move through your whole house.
3. Time Blocking. For those of you that don’t know what time blocking is, it is a way of managing time by using a schedule and/or timer. You allow yourself a certain amount of time (1 hour, 2 hours, 30 minutes, etc.) to do a certain task and it is very helpful to set a timer too. If you don’t complete that task in the allotted time then you can continue it at a later time or another day. It’s to help you to “keep moving” through the things that you need to do and so you don’t spend too much time doing just one thing. When you are first starting out I recommend allowing yourself more time than you think. As we tend to underestimate the amount of time that certain tasks will take. Once you’ve done it for a little while then you will have a better idea of how long certain tasks actually take to complete and will be able to schedule your time accordingly. I do recommend that you ALWAYS build in some “buffer time” for any emergencies or unexpected events that come up, no matter how good you get at predicting the time spent.
These steps will, at least, give you a starting point. Many of us, myself included, constantly think we don’t have time to do anything. However, once you take a deep dive into how you’re spending your time you may realize that you actually have more time than you thought. You just need a system set up to help you manage your time better. By using time blocking, routines, and to-do lists you can help reduce the feeling of overwhelm and get your life back on track. We all get overwhelmed from time to time. Sometimes more frequently then we’d like to admit I’m sure, but you are still capable of being organized and getting through the tough times. Just take it one step at a time.
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