5 Must-Do Steps to Conquer Overwhelm
Have you ever felt SO motivated to get things done, until you realize just how much you have to do?! Oof. Definitely been there. The wild thing about overwhelm is that it can sneak up anytime even when you’re not expecting it.
While there are times that overwhelm can be motivating and spur us on towards getting things done, overwhelm can also cause us to freeze and get nothing done. Especially if you’re someone that seems to freeze more than become more motivated when feeling overwhelmed it might feel like there’s no bright side. Let me suggest that the bright side is that overwhelm is something we ALL experience. No one is immune or exempt from feeling like things are simply too damn much sometimes.
Personally I’ve found that overwhelm feels that much more disempowering when it’s related to my finances.
“This is so important! How can I just not do anything?!” - - sits for 8 hours at home and avoids thinking about a particular topic/issue/thing that needs our attention…
There’s a lot of reasons why we can experience overwhelm when it comes to our finances, but none of them are so far out of our control that we can’t minimize the overwhelm and help ourselves feel more in control.
5 Steps to Conquer Financial Overwhelm
1. Don’t beat yourself up for feeling the way that you are.
Like we talked about before, overwhelm is a completely normal feeling. The first step to conquering overwhelm is to accept the way you’re feeling and take away the power it has over you.
2. Create a clear plan.
Creating a clear plan will allow you to see exactly what needs to be done and what you should be working on and where your focus should be. Start by laying out what needs to be done, in as simple of steps as you can.
For example, if I was feeling overwhelmed about a credit card that I have a small balance on and want to cancel, here are the steps I would write down as part of my plan:
Log into CC website
If you realize you don’t know a piece of your log-in information such as your password, I would add a step of resetting your password here.
Check my balance
This is an entirely separate step because it can be extremely overwhelming in itself.
Determine if I have enough cash on hand (aka on my debit card) to pay this CC off now
If no, how much can I pay off today? Then add additional steps necessary to pay off the remaining balance.
If yes, pay off the credit card in full!
Call credit card company via the number on the back of the card
Ask to speak with a real person (or click whatever options necessary to get to a real person)
Let them know that I would like to cancel my credit card
Despite their arguments for why I should keep the card open, stick to my guns and confirm my desire to cancel the card
Once they’ve confirmed the cancellation, snip my card in half! (just for fun…)
3. Focus on one thing at a time.
AKA stop multitasking! You don’t have to do everything at once. There will be time to complete it all. Focus on the task at hand and not at the number of remaining tasks that you have in your plan.
4. Don’t just know what you’re going to do, know when you’re going to do it!
Schedule the completion of tasks in your plan into your regular day, so you’ll be sure to have time to complete them. It’s a bummer to feel rushed or nervous about not having enough time when you’re working towards your goals, especially when those feelings are avoidable. If achieving your financial goals is important to you, prioritize the tasks that you need to complete them just as you would prioritize attending a doctor’s appointment.
5. Keep sleeping, eating, and exercising.
Just because your focusing on your goals which will help you become less overwhelmed, doesn’t mean that it’s the time to stop taking care of yourself. Get enough sleep, eat well, move your body every day, take a shower… It sounds basic, but overwhelm can cause use to pause a lot of important things in our life.
Final Words
While completely normal, overwhelm isn’t a feeling that we have to live with forever. With some thoughtful planning, we can begin to tackle the things that are causing us to experience overwhelm. By accepting the way you’re feeling, creating a plan, focusing on one thing at a time, scheduling in time to complete tasks, and continuing to take care of yourself, you’ll be on your way to minimizing the feeling of overwhelm in your life.