What to do right now if you have a lot to do and are feeling overwhelmed
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Sometimes in life, we find ourselves in a period of chaos.
There is so much to do and not much time, you have a bunch of deadlines approaching, your room or home is a mess, you don’t even know where to start, and at this point, you are just overwhelmed!
If this is you then you are in the right place.
I’m not saying that all your problems would magically disappear simply by reading this post but I assure you, you are going to feel more put together if you follow the tips I’m going to share with you.
Below are ways you can get your life together right now or at least make it less chaotic.
1. Clean your space.
A clean organized space could be therapeutic. It helps you feel calm and relaxed contrary to a cluttered space. There are so many studies that show a connection between clutter and increased stress levels.
So, cleaning your room, house, or apartment will go a long way in improving how stressed you feel right now.
I recommend you do this first as it is the most tedious (depending on how messy and cluttered your space is) and let’s be honest it is one of the things we often procrastinate.
I know you might be thinking that this isn’t a very good use of your time but as long as you have a messy space, you need to tackle that first. The only exception would be that you already have a clean space.
2. Do your laundry.
It is always a good feeling when all or most of your clothes are clean. Just like cleaning our space laundry is also something we can sometimes procrastinate.
Do you have an overflowing laundry bag you keep ignoring? Well, it is time to tackle that monster!
This step shouldn’t take too much time. I think the most daunting aspect of laundry is sorting the clothes out before and folding them afterward.
Doing your laundry will not only lower your stress a little bit but will also give you a feeling of accomplishment, which can lessen how overwhelmed you feel right now.
So, pick up that bag of laundry and begin sorting, you’ve got this!
3. Get a planner.
Assuming you have followed steps 1 and 2, you have a clean space that smells fresh, laundry is done, and now you feel like a brand new person, it is time to start planning.
There are countless planners you can buy online or in stationery shops close to you.
You most likely already have one or an older one you got and didn’t get to use.
There are also printables you can buy that are tailored to meet your specific needs and preferences and they are just a print away.
We have a free weekly planner that I absolutely love and I am sure you’ll like it too. You can just print it and start planning right away.
Make sure you don’t waste too much time getting a planner, this should take no time at all.
4. Prioritise.
This step goes hand in hand with step 3. While you are planning you should make a rough draft of all your assignments, deadlines, and appointments according to how urgent and mandatory they are.
This is where you have to be realistic. If an assignment is not urgent it shouldn’t be on top of the list.
Prioritizing helps us make the best of our time otherwise, we would only be focusing on the tasks that we enjoy or feel good doing; the ugly tasks need to get done too.
You also have to be very realistic with how many tasks you can actually get done at a period of time because setting unreasonable expectations can make you even more overwhelmed.
It is easy to get ambitious and fill your task with all you have to get done at the moment.
Stick to just the important ones that are the most urgent.
5. Relax a little or take a nap.
When you are done planning out your task and you have a clear picture of what you need to do, how long, and when, it is time to relax a little.
If like myself you love naps, this would be a great time to take one. Just do whatever makes you feel relaxed and replenished.
After all the stress of cleaning and planning, you deserve the rest.
So, go ahead and get some quality rest.
6. start grinding.
When you are done resting, it is time to face the tasks one after the other and tackle them.
If you have no problem focusing for long periods of time you can set a “deep work” timer where you work you work between 2 to 4 hours and don’t stop until the timer goes off.
If you can’t focus for long you can do the Pomodoro method where you set a timer to work for 25 minutes and then rest for 5 minutes. I prefer doing 50 minutes of work and then resting for 10 minutes.
Also, try not to get burnt out. If you need rest, don’t deprive yourself of it. Take it easy and steady, one task after the other.
If you are stuck on a particular task move on to another and then come back to it later, time is of the essence at this point.
conclusion
I understand what it feels like to be in this predicament. I have been in this situation a few too many times.
Sometimes, a typical response we have to us being overwhelmed is to procrastinate even further and then feel even more miserable.
The tips I shared in this post are what I use every time when I find myself in this situation and it always works.
I hope reading this post has encouraged you to get up and start tackling the chaos that you have going on now.
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