Are You on Overwhelm?

I can't tell you how many times I've heard the statement "I'm so overwhelmed!" So many of my clients have too much to do, and so little time to do it in. I used to say "I'm overwhelmed" myself, way too often. I don't anymore.

I imagine you are asking yourself "Why, Steve? Aren't you busy anymore?" Well, yes I'm as busy as I have ever been. The difference is I have changed my thinking and my actions around being overwhelmed by too many things to do.

When you constantly say 'I'm overwhelmed' you perpetuate the feeling and mindset of 'too much'. Typically what happens is you create so much anxiety that you become frozen in your tracks and don't do anything. That's hardly a solution to the situation! But, don't worry, you're not alone.

Try changing what you say to 'I can handle everything that comes my way', or 'I have plenty of time to do what's most important'. Next you need to know that you will rarely get caught up. There really is too much to get done, so stop trying to do it all. The reality is most of what we do is a waste of time anyway. You also need to know that you will never finish everything. More is always coming your way, and it always will be that way. Just ask any retired person!

The next step is to take action in a purposeful way. Here are seven tips to help you do that.


Touch it Once - Don't even touch something unless you are going to take action. Do it, dump it, delegate it or schedule it. Skip checking your email first thing in the morning. You may never get to the important things!


Make Lists - When you think it, ink it. Get it out of your head and onto paper or in a Word or Excel document. When 'To Do's' are swirling around inside your head, they seem to be bigger and in greater volume than in reality.


Pick Six - Choose the Six most important things you need to get done or work on today. Allow about 5 to 6 hours for these tasks. Make sure to leave scheduled room for 'got-a-minutes', checking emails and putting out fires.


Time Your Tasks - Assign an amount of time to spend on each task, or a guesstimate of how long they will take you.


Prioritize Tasks - Assign priorities to your Six tasks such as A1, A2, etc in order of their importance. What's important? What makes you or your company money! Prospecting and marketing are usually the things that get put on the back burner. Move them to the front and Turn them up to a High Rolling Boil!


Plan Your Day - Now plug in your Top Six into your calendar, A1 first, etc, with room in between for return calls, email and the unexpected.


When in Doubt, Throw it Out - 80% of what you receive in the form of email, voice mail, and snail mail is junk. Toss it out right away. In fact, go through the stuff you have been saving 'to go over later' and pare it down to what's still relevant. Most of it isn't any more. Refer to Rule number 1 when you do this.


That's it. A simple change in mindset, and working on purpose can free you from having too much on your plate. You'll get more of the right things done and feel better about it!

2007 Steve O'Sullivan