When you're struggling with overwhelm, one of the biggest stumbling blocks you have is your mindset and mental health.

When you're in a great mood, you're focused, super productive. You feel like nothing can get in your way. Content gets created, meetings get handled, sales get made and business get done.

But when you have an off day… anything that isn’t essential gets kicked to the kerb. You can spend hours staring at the screen. Or wasting time flip-flopping from task to task. Sometimes you even struggle to get out of bed.

So it was sad to see the retirement of British professional gymnast Ellie Downie last week. Clearly her battle with mental health had taken over - and she didn’t see a way out.

Now in case you don’t know, Ellie was at the top of her game. She won 12 major medals in her career

• Won the European Championship Gold medal in 2017.
• Took part in the Rio Olympics.
• Won the British Championships in 2019

Furthermore, she’s still only 23 years old. But unfortunately due to the stress and pressure to perform, she felt her mental health and wellbeing were under attack. And she just couldn’t continue competing.

I had a call with a client recently I'd like to share with you.

Like Ellie, this client was at the top of their game. At this moment, they weren't in a great place.

• Unable to focus because there was so much on their mind
• Thoughts going a mile-a-minute…
• Not knowing where to start ...

Ultimately, they were feeling overwhelmed and stressed with everything they had to do. Flitting from task to task, panicking they wouldn’t be able to get anything done in time.

In fact, they were so stressed with everything they had going on, they were reluctant to even join me for our scheduled call. In their own words, they just had “too much going on”.

Once they got on the call a remarkable thing happened. They were able to get everything off their chest. Like a jigsaw puzzle being poured out of a box, everything was on display. It was now a case of putting it back together and seeing the picture revealed.

Talk It Through

And that’s exactly what we did.

• What to do that day to make the biggest difference in their life.
• Prioritised the rest of their tasks.
• Developed a clear plan of action… for the rest of the week.

By the end of the call, they had a completely different mindset.

• Knowing what they needed to do going forward.
• Coming up with a great idea for something they could put in place right away to boost their income.

What’s more, it only took half an hour of their time. Which is incredible. They had a completely different mindset by the end of the call. Going from a state of complete overwhelm to being clear about what to do next. And that’s a major win.

By talking things through. Working with me to rearrange their diary… and priorities. They now had a fresh view on their world. The overwhelm and stress disappeared.

They knew what they needed to do… when they needed to do it… and how long each task was going to take.

In contrast to their overwhelm a few minutes earlier, they were now focused, calm and collected. And, their mindset was back in a positive place. Now they could start to achieve things again:

• Take control of the business.
• Move forward with their plans.
• Get those sales to boost their income.

How to deal with overwhelm

When you're dealing with overwhelm, here’s what you need to do.

1.  Write out everything you want to get done today… and then decide on the ONE most important task. This will stop your overwhelm and thinking you have to do everything, all at once. You don’t - you just need to focus on one task at a time - and it should be the most important task.

2.  Take that task and break it up into smaller, more manageable pieces. Write them on a post-it note and attach it to the side of your computer screen.

3.  As you complete each piece, cross it off the list. Not only have you focused on your most important task for the day… but you’ve also broken it up into more manageable, bite-size pieces so it’s easier to achieve.

Keep those bite-size pieces in front of you… so they’re visible and you’re reminded of what you need to do.

See your progress as you tick each one off.

Finally, once you’ve completed your task, take 5 minutes to celebrate. Take a photo or a selfie with your crossed off list and post it on LinkedIn or Facebook. Tag me so I can share your celebrations too!

Or, just message me directly if you’d prefer. Either way, I’ll be delighted to see your success. You can post or DM me on Facebook or Instagram too.