Gratitude
One of my favorite productivity tips for countering overwhelm is to flip it on its head. Instead of thinking why you are so annoyed and frustrated for your responsibilities, instead consider why you are grateful to have them.
For example, instead of being annoyed that I had to sign contract after contract after contract, I kept reminding myself how appreciative and thankful I was to even be in this position to buy a home in the first place.
That thought process transformed my anger to gratitude and helped me power through my tasks more calmly and effectively.
Productivity tips: Next step
Another great productivity tip that I utilized was to take one step at a time. Because when you’re busy it’s really easy to zoom out, look at the big picture, and panic because you have so much more to go.
But instead of doing that, just take one step forward.
Then another. Then another.
When feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry about looking up. Simply ask yourself: what is the next step that I can take right now?
It will pass
Time moves quickly. It may not feel that way at times, but it does move fast. So when feeling overwhelmed, use the fact that time will pass to calm yourself down, recollect, re-center, and focus on the task that needs to be worked on.
And when you’re working, just do the best you can. If you can’t get everything done today, that’s fine.
There’s always tomorrow.
Productivity tips: Write everything down
This is one of those simple productivity tips that is also incredibly powerful. Write down everything that you need to do.
Because the simple act of writing will get the chaos out of your head and onto the paper where you can organize and see things clearly.
Pare down
Remove tasks from your list that aren’t a priority. If you have too much to do but not enough time for all of them, remove items from your agenda that are low importance.
Productivity tips: Single-task
You’re going to feel like your head is everywhere. You’ll be thinking about one thing while working on another thing while talking to someone about something else.
The problem with that is you won’t be making progress on anything when you’re working on everything.
Fight the urge to multitask and focus on single tasking instead. Learn to focus on what matters and start to see real results.
Utilize time management
When it comes to being productive while overwhelmed, time management is your friend. Be sure to utilize it so that you are making time for what matters.
Productivity tips: Create a plan for your time
One of the best ways to be productive when chaos surrounds you is to have a plan for your time. A plan that prioritizes the important things and helps you make daily progress.
For that, I recommend you check this out.
Early riser
When you have a lot to do, consider waking up a little earlier. Suspend your regular morning routine for one that allows you to get up and get to it.
Here are some tips for creating a better morning routine.
Productivity tips: Rest
It’s a bit counterintuitive, but when you’re feeling overwhelmed, one productivity tip that you should consider is taking breaks as often as you can.
You have a lot to do and it would make sense to keep pushing through the exhaustion, but that will only lead you to feeling more overwhelmed. Instead of going that route then, make sure to rest. Get enough sleep, step away from the computer every so often, take a nap.
Resting will give you the energy you need to stay motivated and productive.
Health check
Similar to resting, you need to keep your overall health in check during this time too. Why? Because you are likely to feel stressed, tired, and frustrated.
And if you opt for junk food and no sleep as opposed to vegetables and an eight hour slumber, you’re only setting yourself up for more exhaustion the next day.
Treat your body well and you will be able to sustain your productivity even while overwhelmed.
Productivity tips: Problem solver
Here is one of the more unique productivity tips I recommend – be a problem solver. See your overwhelm as a problem that has a solution waiting to be uncovered.
If your boss puts more on your plate daily and you never feel like you can catch up, see that as a problem to be solved. Maybe that means asking for help from others or sitting down with your boss and discussing your actual responsibilities.
Treat your overwhelm like a case to be solved and you will find creative solutions for it.
Seriously, plan your day
I touched on this earlier, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed, I seriously recommend planning out your day.
To help, here’s my post on daily planning and my bonus post on productive planning as well. Something else you’ll want to keep in mind is Parkinson’s law (a real game changer) which you can learn about here.
Productivity tips: Ask for help
This is one of the biggest productivity tips you can utilize and is often the hardest to do… ask for help.
It may not always feel like it, but people love you. People care about you. And most of all, people don’t want you to struggle or suffer. In fact, they want you to thrive and succeed.
So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, like you’re drowning in to-do’s, swallow your pride and ask for help. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but if you are genuine in your request, you will find that others are more than happy to support your cause.
Focus time
When it comes to productivity tips at work, this one is a must. When you have a lot to do, a great way to be productive in this scenario is to let your coworkers (or roommates) know that you need uninterrupted time to focus.
Explain how you’re feeling and how much time you need. Then, close the door or put in your headphones, and get to work.
Productivity tips: Rapid fire
There are so many productivity tips to choose from. All very helpful! That said, a lot of them are pretty self explanatory.
To close out the list of productivity tips then, here is a rapid fire list of tips that need no (or very little) explanation.
Work: Stop thinking so much. You know what you need to do, start working. That’s it.
Clutter: Remove clutter from your desk to help you feel organized and less overwhelmed.
Apps: Download productivity apps to streamline your workflow. Here are my favorites.
Downtime: When planning your schedule, build downtime and rest into your timeline.
Music: Listen to music to help you focus and stay productive. I recommend this kind.
Get ready: Prepare your clothes, lunch, and plan the night before. Get ready for tomorrow so that you can wake up and get to it.
Tools: Similar to apps, utilize productivity tools to help you get more done. See my post here.
Meetings: When in a meeting, keep everyone on task so that time doesn’t go over.
Hardest task: Start your day with your hardest task first. Use your energy where it’s most needed.
Exercise: Similar to keeping your health in check, make sure to exercise. Doing so will reduce stress, help you sleep better, and keep you sharp and in shape.
What matters: Work on what matters most. Check in on your daily goals and make sure you are working in the right direction. Learn more about daily goal setting here.
System: Create a system for yourself that you can rely on again and again. For help, see my goal setting course here.
Time track: Feel like you aren’t getting anything done? Write down where you are spending your time so that you can actually see if you’re using it wisely.
Bonus: Know that everything will get done. You got this.