• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Vicki Tillman Coaching

Find Meaning in Your Life.

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Schedule
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

3 Painless, Practical Things to do When You Feel Overwhelmed

October 9, 2017 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

Here are 3 painless, practical things to do when you feel overwhelmed.

3 Painless, Practical Things to do When You Feel Overwhelmed VickiTillmanCoaching.com

3 Painless, Practical Things to do When You Feel Overwhelmed

Ever feel like shutting down when you feel overwhelmed?

I read a quote by Matthew Kimberley: Feeling overwhelmed is not because you have too much to do; it is because you don’t know what to do next.

I agree. The feeling of overwhelm is often caused by having a lot to do and looking at that huge to-do list…then stopping because there’s not a clear starting point. Then nothing gets done, of course.

So, what can you do? Here are 3 painless, practical things to do when you feel overwhelmed:

* Calm down

Take some deep breaths, lower your blood pressure and your racing thoughts. Practice some mindfulness. Here’s a freebie with my favorite mindfulness, deep-breathing activity. This will clear your head. Really. Try it!

Progressive Relaxation

Click here for more information.

* Predict a positive outcome

Our minds will drive us where we tell it to drive us. In other words: If we tell our brains, “This is going to be a disaster!”, our brains will usually co-operate with that.

Why not predict something realistic and positive instead? How about, “This is going to be challenging but I’m up for the adventure and will do FINE!”

If our brain expects an adventurous challenge with a FINE outcome, it will co-operate with that. In other words: Brainwash your brain with a positive truth statement rather than a negative, fear-mongering statement.

* Schedule backwards

Take a little time to plan before you start chipping away at the to-do list. This is how to do it; write these things down:

  • Begin with the end in mind. What will it look like when you are successfully finished with everything?
  • Now, look backwards to the half-way point. What will you have finished by that point?
  • Now, look at the halfway point to the halfway point. What will you have finished by that time?
  • Now, look at the halfway point to the halfway point to the halfway point. What will you have finished by that time?
  • This gives you a good feel to the pacing you need. How much will you be needing to accomplish each day?
  • What will be your starting point?
  • With that starting point, write out a schedule. (For more tips on this kind of schedule, my friend, Sabrina, has a freebie called Scheduling Backwards.)

Want more help getting life under control? Life coaching will help with that. Contact me to reserve a time to get started on a life free from overwhelm!

3 Painless, Practical Things to do When You Feel Overwhelmed

Filed Under: Healthy Lifestyle, Skills for Success Tagged With: Overwhelmed

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Testimonial

  • I’m grateful for Vicki’s wise and prayerful coaching. She asks pointed questions that have allowed me to see new perspectives and challenged my misconceptions of self with God’s Word. Working with her has equipped me with tools to make healthier choices and to build stronger personal and work-based relationships.

    - BD

Schedule an Appointment

Want to get started? Book an appointment through my Calendy.

Sign-up for Vicki’s Newsletter

Footer

What We Do

  • Coaching Services
  • Speaking Services
  • Other Services

Social Media

Sign-up for Vicki's Newsletter!

Contacting Us

Email: Vicki@VickiTillmanCoaching.com

Call: 302-738-6859
Pike Creek Psychological Center
8 Polly Drummond Hill Rd
Newark, DE 19711

Form: Setup an Appointment

© 2023· Vicki Tillman Coaching · All Rights Reserved