From Overwhelm To Action – A Simple 3-Step Strategy
Written by Alice Dartnell, Life and Success Coach
Alice Dartnell is a time management and energy management coach, trainer, speaker, and author, who is passionate about empowering people to create a life by design, not by default! Known as an expert in time management and energy management, Alice doesn’t teach time management in the traditional sense.
Feeling overwhelmed? First off, give yourself a round of applause for recognising it! Awareness is the first step toward change, and you’ve just taken it. This might be a bit controversial, but overwhelm isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It often indicates that you’re out of alignment, possibly taking on too much or focusing on things that don’t truly matter or add value. The problem arises when we remain stuck in that state of overwhelm.
As Kaye Doran writes in her Brainz Article, Overcoming Overwhelm, “The problem with overwhelm is if it is not recognized, reigned in, and restructured, it can become a dark cloud that hovers over our lives, halting our progression forwards.”
Follow my simple but effective three-step process for overcoming the overwhelm, taking you from “argh” to action!
1. Brain dump
The first step is to do a brain dump. This involves transferring everything from your mind onto paper or a digital document. Whether it's worries, ideas, to-dos, or random thoughts, get it all out. Our working memory has a limited capacity. According to Cognitive Load Theory, our working memory has a limited capacity, usually holding about 4-7 items at a time. When we overwhelm our brain with too many thoughts or tasks, it becomes challenging to process them all, resulting in cognitive overload.
Also, the psychological phenomenon, the Zeigarnik Effect, suggests that people tend to remember incomplete or interrupted tasks better those they have finished.
By offloading all your thoughts and tasks, you ease the mental burden on your working memory, creating space for clearer thinking that is often clouded when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
2. Decide what is critical
Once you have everything out of your head, it’s time to categorise and sort through your brain dump. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s likely that your thoughts have become jumbled, mixing mundane tasks (“I need to take the chicken out of the freezer to defrost”) with critical decisions (“Who is the best candidate to hire”).
Look through your brain dump. What is actually important? What really matters? What is urgent? Maybe you want to even categorise it. For example:
To-do list: Identify what needs to be done. Is it a quick two-minute task or something more substantial? Break it down to understand what’s truly urgent and what can wait.
Worries: Address any worries or concerns. For example, if the launch of your new coaching programme is causing anxiety, jot down your thoughts. Determine if it’s something you need to resolve on your own or discuss with a mentor or coach.
Random thoughts and aha moments: Note these down. They might not need immediate action but can be valuable insights or ideas for later.
Ideas: Assess whether these ideas are urgent or can be parked for later. Determine their importance and potential impact on your goals.
The goal is to identify what’s truly important, most urgent, and where you need to focus your attention. Prioritize tasks based on their importance, the impact they will have, and their significance. For example, if you’re moving house, setting up your new workspace might be more urgent for your business, even though it doesn’t directly generate income, compared to working on your next $10,000 launch idea. You need that space to think clearly and effectively.
3. Plan it in
Now that you have a clear list of tasks and priorities, it’s time to plan. Start scheduling these tasks into your calendar or planner. Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps and assign deadlines. This will help you stay organised and reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and reduce the Zeigarnik Effect kicking in.
Take control of the overwhelm
Remember, getting overwhelmed is a normal reaction when we’re taking on too much or when our minds are cluttered, but of course, we don’t want to stay in that feeling! By following these three steps: brain dumping, deciding what’s critical, and planning it, you’ll find yourself better equipped to handle being overwhelmed and regain control of your time and tasks as soon as possible!
Want to know more
Download my free training “From Procrastinator to Proactive” Mini-Masterclass. This is the ultimate guide to banishing procrastination, managing the overwhelmed, and creating balance!
Alice Dartnell, Life and Success Coach
Alice Dartnell is a time management and energy management coach, trainer, speaker, and author, who is passionate about empowering people to create a life by design, not by default! Known as an expert in time management and energy management, Alice doesn’t teach time management in the traditional sense. Instead, she focuses on importance of energy management and mindset as the way to improve time management. Alice believes that time management actually isn’t about managing time! Instead, it is about managing you, other people, your tasks and most importantly, your energy! She works with individuals on a 121 basis, as well as through programmes, workshops, and courses. Additionally, she delivers training to org
