10 Ways to Manage When Feeling Overwhelmed with Work and Life

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10 Ways to Manage When Feeling Overwhelmed with Work and Life

Take a moment to check in with your body. How are you feeling?

If you’re overwhelmed and stressed, you aren’t alone. Unfortunately, in a world that moves so fast, it’s easy to fall into that feeling, whether that’s with work or life or both. 

Sometimes we just have so much going on that it’s hard to juggle it all.

If you feel that way, just know that it is normal. There’s nothing wrong with you, and this overwhelm can be minimized.

With a little bit of intentionality and effort, here’s how to manage when feeling overwhelmed with work and life.

Adopt these into your own life, and then see how you feel!

How to Manage When Feeling Overwhelmed

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Take frequent breaks

Breaks are essential for productivity, focus, and minimizing overwhelm.

How frequently do you take breaks?

If you aren’t sure, try to set a timer and take a break every half hour or so.

These breaks will help you clear your mind, stretch your legs and feel energized to continue doing your work.

Go outside for some fresh air

Spending time outside is good for the soul, especially when you feel stressed or overwhelmed.

Take a moment to go outside, feel the sunshine on your face, listen to the birds, and breathe in the fresh air. You can go for a walk if you’d like, or just simply enjoy a few minutes in nature.

Fresh air often brings us clarity, new ideas, and a feeling of peace.

Sometimes it’s as easy as taking one step outside and getting some vitamin D from the sun to feel the stress melt away.

Just make sure to wear masks during flu season. This will ensure you enjoy your walk while still being protected. Fortunately, you can always buy N95 masks online.

Prioritize tasks by urgency and importance

When you’re looking at a never-ending to-do list, of course, you’ll feel like you have a million things that need to get done immediately. That is rarely the case!

To prevent this from happening, prioritize tasks by urgency and importance.

This will help you see what actually needs to get done right now and what can wait until later.

From here, choose three tasks per day to complete, in order of urgency.

You’ll not only know you’re consistently making progress, but you’ll also know you’re doing the right things first.

Adopt a positive morning routine

Having a set routine that fills your cup each day can help you manage feeling overwhelmed with work and life.

Create a positive morning routine that works for you and your life.

Yours may include reading, journaling, exercising, or maybe just enjoying your cup of coffee while watching the sunrise.

Consistently practice your routine in order to start your days off on the right foot.

Your morning routine can ebb and flow with you—it’s not a rigid, strict thing. Try adding elements to your day and see which ones you enjoy the most!

Lean on your support system

Although you may feel lonely in your stress, you are never actually alone.

Lean on your support system for help and guidance, whether that consists of family, friends, or fellow entrepreneurs.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help in your personal life if work is overwhelming, and vice versa.

You can ask for some help watching the kids or ordering groceries for delivery instead of doing the shopping yourself.

You can hire a virtual assistant or a contractor to pick up some miscellaneous tasks for you so you can focus on your big project.

Your community is there for you when you need it.

Quiet your mind

Your mind is always running at top speed, trying to juggle everything going on in your life.

Give it the time and space to be still.

You can quiet your mind through things like yoga, journaling, and meditation.

You can even just sit in silence.

This time will not only relax you, but it will help you focus when you return to your work.

Recommended book to read: Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise

Unplug and take time away from the screen

We live most of our lives glued to screens, whether those are our cell phones, computers, or televisions.

Technology runs our work and lives, so it’s important to unplug.

You can have set hours each day where you power down your devices, or just try unplugging one day per week.

You’ll notice feeling lighter and more present when you can live your life away from the screen.

Recommended book: 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week

Be sure to get enough rest

Rest is the best medicine for the overwhelmed feeling.

Try to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night, and listen to your body when it needs to slow down.

If you don’t prioritize your sleep, you won’t be able to be as productive in your day-to-day life.

You can’t show up as your best self if you don’t put yourself first.

Practice self-care consistently

What does self-care look like to you? It doesn’t have to always be bubble baths and face masks—although those things can be great.

Make self-care a priority.

You can’t pour from an empty cup, so be sure to always ask yourself what you need each day.

You may need a long walk, a midday nap, a hot cup of tea and a book, or even a massage.

Pencil in time off

Taking time off can be hard, especially as a business owner. If you take time off, won’t your business suffer?

The truth is, time off is essential for everyone.

We all need time to focus on ourselves, rest and recharge.

If taking time off is a struggle for you, then pencil it in on your calendar in advance.

Block off that time so that you can plan for it in advance.

You don’t always need to take a big vacation during that time, but just having time away from work every so often can help you mitigate feeling overwhelmed by work.

Final Thoughts

Seasons of overwhelm come and go, so if you’re in the middle of a busy season, try to make these tips a priority.

When you face the overwhelm head-on instead of avoiding it, you’ll be more likely to overcome that feeling. 

You are more than capable of managing the feeling of overwhelm with work and life—it just may take a little bit of practice and reframing the mind.

Adopt the tips here that feel most aligned to you, and see where it takes you.

Wishing you lots of peace and rest!