Investing In Yourself: Getting Focused

Overwhelmed. Frazzled. Feeling like a chicken with its head cut off. Call it what you will, we've all been there. You know the feeling: like you're being pulled in a hundred different directions at a hundred miles per hour when all you really want is five minutes of calm. The good news is: 1) this season in life is usually brief yet furious (think: hurricane) and 2) there are steps you can take to help minimize the stress of being overwhelmed and get back on track. Let's take a look at some of these steps.

Call In Reinforcements

You remember your Aunt Betty's parting words at your last family picnic; she said something about calling her if you ever needed a hand in this or that. Even though you feel it's an effort to find the phone or five minutes to use it, now is the perfect time to give her a call. Sometimes an extra set of hands truly can make a difference in setting life back on its course. People generally want to be helpful to their fellow humans; chances are you have friends and family who will gladly step up to the plate to help you find your center once again.

The List

If there's one remedy I consistently turn to when I'm feeling disorganized and frazzled, it's list making. There's something about writing down what needs to be done that helps put things in perspective and make them seem surmountable. The next time your plate is overflowing, whip out a pen and paper and start listing out what you need to tackle. Don't forget to cross out an item when you've finished; just seeing your list dwindle will give you a nice sense of accomplishment and help you start to settle back to normal.

One Thing at a Time

Sometimes the pull of having many things to do at onece in a small amount of time can prove to be overwhelming. I'm sure you can multi-task with the best of them, but sometimes there are simply too many irons in the fire at one time. So another step you can take to help quench the overflow is to successfully complete one thing at a time. Take one item (from your list, perhaps) and devote your efforts to finishing it before turning your attention to another thing. Carving out small successes helps reign in your focus and contributes to the sense of satisfaction in seeing something through.

Hour by Hour

My last bit of advice was initially given to me by a dear, experienced mom. After my twins were born, I found myself smack dab in the middle of Overwhelmed City with no road map. This mom (and grandma, since her children were grown with babies of their own) told me, in essence, to take life not so much day by day but hour by hour. Get through one hour successfully and then start in on the next. By not focusing so much on how will I get through tomorrow and more so on getting through the morning, it eventually did become easier to make it through the day.

Whatever life has thrown at you that gives you the feeling of being in overdrive with no breaks, take heart. Getting things back under control is definitely within your reach.

Any other tips out there? What is your experience with re-finding your focus or rebalancing your life?

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