Overwhelm – Page 4 – One Insight Closer

Where Do I Start?

February 7, 2013February 11, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in Goals, Overwhelm, planning, Task List

It’s easy to answer “Where do I start?” with “at the beginning” isn’t it? Sometimes though, the beginning isn’t immediately obvious.

“I’m soooo overwhelmed with what has to be done! And I have no idea where to even start making changes so that I feel like I’m accomplishing something on a regular basis.”

Sound familiar?

I’ve heard it a few times, heck – I’ve said it myself a few times!

I pulled this great quote from David Allen’s book Getting Things Done:

Trying to manage from the top down, when the bottom is out of control, may be the least effective approach.

This describes exactly why I believe you need to know what’s currently on your plate before you set your long term goals.

Now, you might be saying, but Evie! You’re a coach, don’t you encourage your clients to set goals right away?

And yes, I do, but the shorter term goal of “I want to understand what’s currently on my plate” needs to be accomplished before adding more goals to the plate.

So, why take the time and energy to know what’s on your plate before you set your goals? Well, there are three reasons:

When you don’t already know exactly what is on your plate, taking on more things only adds to the confusion and overwhelm. ‘Should’ becomes a constant companion as in, “Oh, I should be doing this” and you spend less and less time with what makes you excited, as in “Ohhh! I get to do this today!”
When you know what’s on your plate, you can easily see where you’ve taken too much on or what’s not as important as you previously though. And then you can let that stuff go. Remember, just because you’ve always done it that way, or other people in your profession have, doesn’t mean that you have to do it that way.
When you set your goals after you know what’s on your plate, you can easily see what you’re already doing that supports those goals. And you might find that with a slight tweak, some things you’re already doing will support your new goals.

Think of it like this, if you’re driving and get lost, you stop and find out where you are (or pull out your phone or GPS) so you can determine how and when you’ll get to your destination.

So, what’s on your plate that you can let go of? Share in the comments below!

Taking it One Step at a Time

January 31, 2013January 31, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in Goals, Overwhelm

Late last year, at the small community gym I go to, I noticed a gentleman in his late 70’s or early 80’s. I knew he was a regular based on how others greeted him.

Now, this particular gentleman stood out to me because he took the elevator to the second floor where the gym is located. And he walked quite slowly, with a cane and was quite hunched over.

I’m not entirely sure what he did at the gym, since I’m usually leaving as he arrives, but he was there week after week. And I marveled at his dedication when it would have been so easy for him to stay home.

I’ve seen him off and on as the months have passed, but when I saw him today something was different and I couldn’t immediately put my finger on what.

It wasn’t until later that I realized what had changed.

He was no longer walking with a cane! And he was moving a bit faster and standing slightly taller. A couple minutes later I realized another change – he took the stairs to the second floor!

I don’t know how long he’s been walking without the cane and taking the stairs, but I do know that he’s made significant progress in a few short months to be able to do that.

And he continues to come to the gym. I’m sure as time goes on he will be walking a little bit faster and standing a bit taller.

Why am I sharing this story?

Well, sometimes I hear from clients or others who are frustrated with the long list of things they have to do: “Oh, there’s so much to do! How can I possibly get everything done!”

And the answer to that question, as with so many things, is to do it one step at a time.

The gentleman from my gym did that quite literally. He took one step at a time so he could more easily take future steps, and take them faster. It would have been extremely easy for him to stay at home and do something else, but he didn’t. Even though the steps where small and slow, he took them.

When we take steps toward our goals, dreams or anything – the steps might feel unnatural, incredibly slow and frustrating. And initially, they probably are! But when you take those initial steps, you’re laying the ground work for what’s to come, you’re gaining strength and momentum.

So, stick with it. Course correct when necessary, but keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually, you’ll be moving a bit faster and with more confidence!

What are your steps taking you toward? I’d love to know! Share in the comments below.

3 Problems that Create Overwhelming Task Lists

January 24, 2013January 24, 2013 by EvieBurke, posted in Overwhelm, planning, Task List

Whenever I talk about task lists, whether in a presentation or with clients, I hear about how they’ve tried making lists, but it just doesn’t work for them. And if they had a system for keeping track of their goals and tasks that was working for them, then I’d leave it alone. However, they usually don’t.

When I ask why task lists don’t work, I generally hear something like:

It’s overwhelming to see everything I need to do in one place.
I make a list, stare at it and then go and do something else entirely.

This isn’t a problem of task lists not working – the problem is what’s on the list.

Here are the top three reasons your list isn’t working for you:

The tasks are too big.
Your tasks are things like updating your website, launching a program/product or paint the living room. Of course you’re frustrated and overwhelmed! Those are projects, NOT tasks (and you’ve created yourself a list of them!).

Your task list is exactly that, a list of tasks. Instead of writing “paint the living room,” ask yourself what’s the next step? Have you picked a color yet? Maybe your next step is to look at colors at a store and grab a few examples to take home and review.
The list is too long.
Everyone has created lists like this. You’ve decided to write down everything that you need to do and before you know it; you’ve assigned yourself 20 tasks for the day. Again, you’re frustrated because you know that there is no possible way to complete all those items today.

And you’re absolutely right. It won’t all get done. You’ve actually created a list of things to do over the next three or four days. Recognizing that and deciding what to complete today from that list will save you time and frustration. So, create a smaller list just for today. If everything feels like it HAS to be done today, take a look at last week’s article here.
The important tasks are hiding between the trivial tasks.
That looks like this: Clean off desk; Call Mom back; Email Jane; Write proposal for upcoming project; Make my inbox zero; Do the dishes; Wash towels.

So, the really important thing, writing a proposal (or whatever it is for your business) is nicely hidden in the middle. You do all the “easy” tasks and run out of time at the end of the day for the really important one. Sorry, but that is not your task list not working for you – that’s you not working your task list.

Always prioritize your list. Even if it’s not written with the most important item first, put a star or asterisk or something next to the highest priority item so it gets done first!

Think of it like this – if someone says I want you to call your mom back, do the dishes, read all your email, take this $1000 bill and clean off your desk – what would you do first? Yep, you’re going to take that $1000 right away and then go do those other things.

So, where is that $1000 on your task list? Find it and take care of that first.

What did I forget? What are your reasons for not keeping a task list? Share in the comments below.

photo credit: jessica wilson {jek in the box} via photopin cc

Two Forms of Overwhelm and What To Do About Them

September 20, 2012November 19, 2012 by EvieBurke, posted in Goals, Overwhelm

This month’s teleclass topic was about “Ending Entrepreneurial Overwhelm.” And as I outlined the topic, I thought about was what causes it. How does it show up for me, how does it show up for my clients and other entrepreneurs I talk with?

It comes in many forms and the two I hear (or recognize) the most are:

Information overload – “they” say I need to be doing this and this and that. And I’ve heard about this other thing I should be doing – Oh and then there’s this – and I can’t forget about that. But how do I find or make time for all of that?
Everything’s started, nothing is finished – last month I started doing this, but then last week I decided I should really be doing this instead. And two days ago I decided I should do this too. So, I have a lot of things I’m working on right now! For some reason I just can’t get anything finished, I just run out of time.

Both of these have the same root cause –you’re focusing on too many things at once, specifically new things. I get it; new things have a bit of a new car look and smell to them. Then you get started on it and the “newness” melts away. You notice that maybe your new car isn’t as perfect as you thought. You’re not getting anywhere any faster than you were in the old car. And now you’re even more frustrated.

So, why are you focusing on so many things at once? Why is it when you pick out one thing to focus on you stick to it for a bit and then find yourself picking something else to focus on before finishing the first one (don’t worry, you’re not alone)? The reason is you don’t have clarity. Yes, you probably have a goal, make this much money or have this many clients or sell this much product, but you aren’t clear about which strategy to use to get there.

As a result, you jump from one strategy to the next. And none of them are really given enough time to determine if they work for you or not. So, pick one strategy and see it through. Purposefully work on each step and tweak as necessary.

The next question is: How do you get clarity? One of the simplest ways is to clearly define what you want and the strategy you’ll use to get there. Think of it like a taking a trip. If you’re going to Chicago, there are lots of different roads and methods you can take to get there. You pick out the way that makes the most sense to you and set out. Halfway through the trip it probably doesn’t make sense to decide to take the train. However, you could make a note that next time you’d like to take the train.

The strategies we use to reach our goals are similar. Once you plot out your strategy, stick to it. And if you come across another strategy on the way, make a note that you thought it was interesting and maybe next time you can use that strategy.

I’d love to know one of your goals and the strategy you’re committing to using to achieve it. Leave a comment and let me know!

We All Have 24 Hours in Our Day

September 13, 2012 by EvieBurke, posted in attitude, Overwhelm

Has anyone ever told you something like: You have just as much time each day as Thomas Edison and Bill Gates (or Steve Jobs). Everyone has 24 hours each day, no matter who they are.

Take a moment and notice your thoughts around this. What are you thinking? What are you feeling right now?

Generally, this kind of thing is meant to motivate you, to encourage you to spend your time wisely. And when I’m feeling overwhelmed with my goals or tasks, this sort of comment or quote annoys the heck out of me!

My thoughts tend to go like this: Good for them! They accomplished great things! Yes, I get your point, I can do that too – but how can I possibly do more in my day!?

Did you catch what happened there? I made an assumption. Based on my frustration and annoyance that I’m not “doing” enough it makes complete sense that I would make that assumption. Maybe you made the same assumption when you read it.

The assumption is that the purpose of the quote is to encourage me to do more each day. Be more productive, get more done, because obviously (another assumption here) the people who are more successful do more each day.

Is “doing more” the real purpose of pointing out everyone gets 24 hours each day? Maybe, maybe not. The real purpose doesn’t really matter.

What matters is how we interpret it. You interpret everything from where you are. So, at different points in your life, or heck, different points in your day, you will interpret the same sentence a different way.

When I’m tired, frustrated and overwhelmed I interpret everyone getting the same 24 hours as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs (or Mother Theresa for that matter) as someone telling me I should be “doing more” or “being more productive.” That time is something everyone struggles with daily.

However, at other times of the day you (and I) might view it differently. Here are some other ways to interpret it:

You immediately look at how productive you are and how you can improve it. Then you create strategies and plans to manage your time and stay productive! What doesn’t work for you today you’ll modify and do better tomorrow.
You think about all the different ways you can use your time (it’s kind of exciting!) and look for the ways you can make the greatest impact for others.
You think it’s really great that you get to choose how to spend your time. Maybe you’ll relax today or work on that project. Either way, it’s your choice and a great way to spend your time!

How did you respond to the “24 hours” comment?

How would you like to respond?