Where Do You Start When Feeling Overwhelmed? Tips to Manage Your Life

Feeling Overwhelmed

In today's world could almost be called a typical feeling. Sad, isn't it? That feeling stems from simply having more to do than you feel you can possibly manage. It's a very real feeling but, fortunately, the solution is also very real.

In this article I'm going to help you answer the question of where do you start when feeling overwhelmed. Later in the article I'm going to give you some tips to manage your life.

OK... let's start.

First,

Write down all you need to do. I know it seems counterintuitive but this step is necessary because it will give you an overall idea of all the things you need to schedule, but also because it will probably let you know things aren't as bad as they seem.

Second,

Take just a few minutes and write down a priority beside each of these tasks. Some may be high priority in that they have to get done really soon and some may have a lower priority and can be put off.

Third,

Consider delegating some of these tasks. Can your spouse help? How about the kids?

Fourth,

Take the high priority tasks left and figure out an order for them. See if you can multitask with some of the lower priority tasks.

Last time I did this exercise I ended up going for days with the same list and noticed day after day the same tasks getting put off. I finally realized that they weren't so important after all if every single day the importance of other tasks always trumped them. I think I finally just either scheduled time to get them out of the way and finally get them off my mind or just took some off my list altogether.

Tips to manage your life

· Learn to create a to-do list - This is an invaluable tool which can help keep life from getting out of hand.

· Learn to delegate - There's no reason you have to do things that others can do just as well.

· Get accustomed to not getting everything on your to-do list done today - Sometimes we can only get so much done before we're just mentally done for the day. Learn to accept when your Super woman cape gets repossessed.

· Learn to ask for help - There's no shame in this. It isn't a sign of weakness...it's a sign of strength.

· Learn to say no if needed - I love this word because saying yes to something is automatically saying no to something else. Just remember that.

· Learn speed cleaning techniques - Everyone loves a clean house and it can be done.

· Create and follow menus - This is a super time-saver and stress reducer.

· Watch less TV - Regardless of what you think this does not enhance your life. Taking photos of your family and creating albums does. Singing does. Taking long walks with your spouse does. Reading does.

· Check your e-mail less - Just schedule time for this. Don't do it 15 times a day when 2 times would work.

Want more tips on managing your time better? Download my free ebook about Time Management for some wonderful ideas.

Where Did the Day Go? Secret Time Suckers!

You sit down with your to-do list, ready to crack down and get some work done. You know what needs to get done and you are ready to do it. Well, now that you are all set up for your task, might as well check your email beforehand... answer any important emails before you start working. Look! Better answer that new email from your sister. Next thing you know you have been sitting at your computer for an hour and a half and you haven't even started working! It is easy for these secret time suckers to leave you wondering where your day went.

Let's look at a few different "secret time suckers" that you may not even realize are taking up a huge part of your day. Now, you may know about these and realize they are taking up a lot of time, but as you read this article, really think on how much time you spend on these distractions. Next time you sit down to work, set a timer and see how long you are actually allowing yourself to spend on these things.

First, let us take a look at email. Obviously, email is an important part of business and you don't want to ignore your potential clients, partners, co-workers, or family, but that doesn't mean you should be checking your email constantly. More often than not it disrupts your work if you check it too often and leads to spending much more time spent on it than expected. It is far to easy to lose an hour reading and responding to emails, clicking links within emails, and ending up surfing the web instead.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites can be even worse than email, easily getting you lost within them for hours at a time. Unless your work specifically requires you to be checking these sites, I highly suggest only checking them once or twice a day. If they are your personal accounts rather than for work, try and stay away until break time or after work. Especially with this one I suggest you try timing how much time you spend on it. You will be surprised!

Something many people don't think of as a time sucker but definitely is: phone calls. When you sit down to work, screen your calls and only take very important ones. Everyone else can wait an hour or two for you to finish your task on hand so you can call them back. Phone calls interrupt work flow. Many times it is easy to find yourself off on a tangent during a phone call, doubling or tripling the time the phone call takes as well.

What is the key to all of this? Once you start a task, you should try and work through it with limited interruptions. When you sit down to work, focus only on that task. Try not to let anything distract you. One distraction leads to more distractions and loss of focus. Next time you think about checking your email before you get started, set that timer and see how long it is actually taking. See exactly how much time you are losing and find out exactly where your day is going!