Have you ever felt overwhelmed? I sure have! Sometimes the pile of things I’d like to do is so big I can’t even see the top of the pile let alone ever get on top of the pile. 

Life seems to keep giving us more and more – more opportunities, more invitations, and more challenges. Eventually, we have so much on our plate that we can’t take on any more. We have no margin. We have no space. We’re are officially overwhelmed. 

I coach quite a number of leaders and one of the questions I am often asked is how do you get through a busy time when there is more that needs to be done than you have time to do.

Maybe you are feeling that right now, especially leading up to the Christmas and holiday season. 

Here are a few things that I do when I need to reduce the overload and minimising that feeling of being overwhelmed:

  1. Delete – is there a project, task, or appointment in the next few weeks that you could delete? Simply don’t do it, because it is no longer important or necessary. 
  1. Delay – is there a project, task, or appointment that you could delay until a later time? If so, go ahead and do that. If it’s not urgent, then it can wait.  
  1. Delegate – is there something on your plate now that someone else could do for you? If so, then go ahead and delegate that.

Already, you should be feeling a little less stressed right now. 

  1. Re-negotiate – is there a project, task, or appointment that you committed to quite a while back that you could re-negotiate based on your current reality? Speak to the person or group involved and ask to be released from your initial commitment. 
  1. Just say ‘No’ – determine to say ‘no’ to any new commitments or opportunities that aren’t vital or essential to your life right now. ‘No’ is a very positive word. By saying ‘no’ to many of the things that continually come our way, we will have the time and energy to say ‘yes’ to the few things that really matter.

It’s amazing how making a few small changes like this have a cumulative positive effect in reducing the feelings of being overwhelmed. 

I hope that has been helpful to you today. 

This has been Episode 28 of Soul Food with Mark Conner. 

You can watch a video of this episode on the Soul Food with Mark Conner YouTube Channel.

NEXT episode: Clarity.

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