How to Get Out of Overwhelm and Back on Track: Move It Forward

I did a survey to my community this week and have to say that I was blown away by the responses. And I want to let you know that I have faced (and still do on some days) the very same challenges that you laid out to me. One of the biggest that you mentioned was how blurry and out of focus your goals and the blueprint to achieve them feels right now. Boy, can I relate. There are days when I feel like I have an entire atlas of options in front of me and no clue which squiggly line to take.

Atlas of Indecision

At times I indulge in overwhelm. I say indulge because you and I both know it is never the wise choice and often just leads to anxiety and shut down. Instead, I prefer to call a brief time out and do one of several things:

Get organized! While some would consider this a procrastination tool, I consider it a vital success tool. When I can literally “see” clearly in my office and my home, my life becomes a lot clearer. Try it!

Call a friend! Often what we most need is just the assurance that we aren’t alone. Being in business for yourself or climbing the corporate ladder can get lonely and isolating. Reaching out and keeping in real contact (voice or face, not just electronic) really makes a difference. Try it!

Read a book or magazine! Sometimes you just need a mental escape or a chance to see beyond your own brilliant brain. There is more going on in this world that what you can see just in your life, reading can help wake you up to that and let you explore beyond the boundaries of your own world. Try it!

Do a Brain Dump! This is invaluable especially for Right Brained Creatives and Bright Shiny Opportunity Chasers!  Pull out a pad of paper, preferably white, and grab a blue ink pen (I’ll dive into the psychology behind that in another post.) Now, in one sitting, just dump all of your thoughts on paper. Then take a fresh sheet (more than one if needed) and organize them by topic, by client, by job, by whatever means works for you. Try it!

Take a Social Media Break!  Yes, I am giving you permission to go play on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn or any other network for 30 minutes, but I mean play. This isn’t about posting business stuff, but instead about connecting and engaging with your community online and checking out what they are up to and how they are doing. This can be energizing and inspiring. Try it!

The key is to DO ANYTHING! Inertia is the worst place you can be and it is shockingly easy to fall into. I’ll vacuum before I go into inertia, (I gave up ironing.)

Please TELL ME here what you do to keep moving when your blueprint gets blurry. I know the 5 tricks I shared can help get you going.