Overwhelm is horrible, isn’t it? I used to be regularly in and out of overwhelm when my two boys were little. I knew I had to find a remedy for it – both to get out of overwhelm when I was in it and stop getting in to it so often! Journaling has been the game-changer I was looking for, and in the past 5 years I’ve refined my process for getting out of overwhelm into 5 easy steps!
- Spend the adrenaline - being in overwhelm triggers our stress hormones which adds to the feeling of "it's too much!". Walk up and down the stairs a couple of times, if you have them, do a few star jumps, and take 3 big slow breaths. Remind yourself that you are safe. This helps calms our body and mind down.
- Mind map it out - Grab your journal (or a piece of A4) and mind map out everything that is in your head. A mind map can be better than a list for this, because our brains tend to be, what I call 'ping pongy', when we are in overwhelm. They ping pong from thing to thing. In a mind map you can easily add to different categories whenever they come to mind rather than rewriting the whole of a ‘to-do list’!
- Categorise to prioritise - Once you have it all written down, take a couple more deep breaths. Then look at what you have. Mark the things into 4 categories:
- Do now - the important AND urgent things (be strict and kind to yourself, are they genuinely both urgent and important?)
- Delegate what you can - it's ok to ask for help or pay someone to do it instead if you can.
- Schedule the things you can't delegate and that aren't super urgent.
- Drop the things that aren't important or urgent - we don't need to wear pants over our clothes and to try to be superwoman or superman! We can let go of some things and all will still be well.
- Refuel – You will have just used up some of your limited energy, so do something that refuels you like having a drink or snack. Or cuddle your little (or not so little person) to fill up both of your love tanks as a bonus. You're nailing getting out of overwhelm!
- Do the 'do now' items – goodbye procrastination, just do the first one! Then, celebrate! 2 things down already. You've got a plan and the first ‘do now’ done! Then work your way through the next ‘do now’ items.
You’ve now got this in the bag! After this process, things should feel more manageable and you will have a plan for how to move forward. If you're tight for time, just bite off small chunks when you can and tick them off of your mind map. You'll quickly notice progress and feel less stressed as a result.
Overwhelm happens to all of us at some point, but now you’ve got the perfect remedy to get you out of it with ease!
Laura Kirtley is a wife, mum and NHS transformation lead. She is passionate about helping mums lighten the mental load in motherhood using the wonderful and flexible tool that is journaling!
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