It transformed my life for the better
3 weeks ago, I experienced the occasional feeling of being overwhelmed.
It was an accumulation of events, meetings, plans, and work schedule that seemed to pile up every single day and the amount of work that I have looks insurmountable.
I could feel my heartbeat racing, palms sweating as I try to navigate all of the burdens I have on my plate. I hated this feeling and so I did what I always do when I’m faced with a problem.
I Googled for a solution.
I chanced upon this video titled “How to stop feeling overwhelmed right now” by Mel Robbins on YouTube and I decided to adopt her technique to ease my discomfort. (It works for me)
Mel Robbins pitched that “when you feel overwhelmed, it’s because your brain is full of garbage.” She goes on to explain how she can help to make the feeling of being overwhelmed “disappear”.
Every day, we are filled with a lot of information from different sources: social media, news, friends, and family. She akin this information as a huge pitcher filled with water. Thereafter, she referred to a smaller jar as our brain.
As we start to receive information, our brain gets overfilled with both essential and unnecessary content. I would go on with my day and random thoughts would come up to my mind. “Oh yes, I have to settle this. Oh, I have to make plans for that.”
It comes to a point where it overflows and that is when we start to feel overwhelmed. There are simply too many things to handle. Accompanied by the pandemic situation and uncertainty of the future, one cannot help but feel helpless. No pun intended.
I listened to Mel Robbins earnestly as she explains that to solve the issue, you need 3 things:
1. A piece of paper
2. A pen
3. A highlighter
Write down every single thing that’s on your mind on the piece of paper. And I mean every single thing. Every to-do, every concern, every meeting, everything that’s bothering you. Write it down.
You can write them in bullet points but I drew mind maps instead as it helps me to see clearly how one thing can be linked to another. Branch out whenever you need to. There are no solid rules when it comes to creating mind maps.
I started using mind maps for everything and it goes all the way back when I was in secondary school more than a decade ago. It’s an amazing way to shorten and see things clearly in one go.
When you are done with it, take a highlighter and highlight the 3 most important and urgent things that matter to you. Importance and urgency are relative from person to person and it depends on what issues it will solve.
Importance
I use my mental health as the center of focus. I usually ask myself if completing this task is able to propel me to a better self in the future. Will addressing this help my mental health, make me feel better and happier?
Urgency
I use deadlines as a focus here. Are there any other stakeholders involved? Will it facilitate the workflow if I finish this task within the next few hours?
Clarity
Once I have highlighted the 3 things, I feel relief and a weight off my chest. Everything becomes clearer and I am able to see everything that is on my mind clearly on the piece of paper.
I wasted no time attempting to start on what I needed to do. It also feels great and gives you a confidence boost whenever you fulfilled something and strike it off the paper. (I personally put a tick next to the task instead of striking it off)
Here is an example of a mind map that you might draw out.
Here is an example of the mind map I sketched out for myself. I have blurred it due to privacy but I just want to highlight how much you can branch out your thoughts and it aids to plan things ahead too.
It’s been 3 weeks now and I use this method to get through the day. Let me know how you feel if you’ve tried this method and spread the learnings with others!
Have a blessed day and stay safe!
