The Best Way to Deal with Overwhelm: Take an Inventory

The Best Way to Deal with Overwhelm: Take an Inventory

As leaders, we are constantly balancing competing priorities, professional and personal.

I know that when stress from this balancing gets too hard overwhelm can set in and even result in a freeze response because everything starts feeling too hard.

When things feel overwhelming, many leaders assume the solution is to push harder, longer, or faster. But overwhelm can be operating at multiple levels of mind and body. So, when you notice you are overwhelmed it is best to stop and take stock of what is going on.

Usually, it comes about because of stress becoming chronic and brain scientists notice that at that point the amygdala (fear center) overrides the prefrontal cortex (rational, executive function), making it impossible to prioritize, plan, or make decisions. Thus, the freeze response I have experienced.

One benefit of stopping when you notice the overwhelm is to realize that the body is just trying to signal that overload has happened and so we can be grateful for this information.

The first steps to getting out of overwhelm are: Stop, breathe, relax your body, and get clear on what you want to accomplish and intentionally adjust where your time, attention, and energy are going.

Whether you are leading an organization, a department, a business, or a major initiative, this exercise can help you move from feeling reactive or freezing and find a self-supportive way forward.

Before jumping into action, pause and ask yourself:

What is causing me stress right now? To move through overwhelm to clarity how can I transform this stress into a way forward?

Then ask yourself:

What would need to change in how I am currently leading, working, or spending my energy to release this stress?

Let your intuition guide you as you answer these questions.

Stop Doing

What activities, habits, behaviors, or ways of thinking are no longer serving your goal?

Sometimes progress begins with subtraction.

Do Less Of

What deserves less of your attention?

Leaders often create space for growth by reducing activities that no longer produce meaningful returns.

Keep Doing

What is already working?

Many leaders focus entirely on problems and forget to preserve their strengths.

Ask yourself:

* What leadership practices are producing results?

* What relationships are helping move things forward?

* What habits support my effectiveness?

Don't abandon what is already contributing to success.

Do More Of

Where should you invest additional energy?

This category often reveals the activities that create the greatest leverage.

Start Doing

What new actions would help you achieve your goal?

Growth often requires new behaviors, not simply better execution of old ones.

Once you have completed all five categories, review your responses.

Circle the actions that stand out.

Ask yourself:

* Which actions would create the greatest impact?

* Which shifts am I truly willing to make?

* Which behaviors align with the leader I want to become?

Then commit to implementing a small number of changes consistently.

These changes will assist you to walk out of the stress of overwhelm because you are releasing what doesn’t serve you and focusing on what is really important.

I offer a Leadership Transformation Day that enables you to move this process quickly and develop a more comprehensive plan. To find out more schedule a free consultation with me:

https://janemidgleycoachingschedule.as.me/ExecutivePowerandPresenceDiscovery