How to Combat Overwhelm: Having Too Much on Your Plate
Learning to combat overwhelm is something I’ve had to work exceptionally hard at over the last few years, and I am certainly not perfect. I am the queen of putting way too much on my plate and trying to juggle all the pieces, and I believe I’ve been reasonably successful at that over the last 10 years. After graduating high school, I immediately went to college (as most people do) and worked multiple jobs through all of college. Once transferring to NSULA, I taught gymnastics, worked in the math lab on campus, tutored privately, and for my last semester worked part time for Martinsburg College doing sales based work.
After graduating college, I was fortunate enough to move into a full time position with Martinsburg College. For a couple of years only did that job. However, given the nature of the job I regularly worked long hours and far past my 40 hour work week. I wanted to be the best. I quickly got overwhelmed between extra responsibilities, my normal job duties, and pursuing promotions within the company. At one point during my tenure there, I decided to try to go back to school. After a promotion to management, I let that go, but again working far more than my 40 hour work week. I was building an entire department essentially from scratch.
When I decided to pursue my second bachelor’s degree, I knew I was going to have to continue working full time to support myself. Then I decided to be really crazy and add a second job to my schedule as a Supplemental Instructor. After getting laid off, I now hold three part time jobs in addition to my full time course load.
Abby, what’s the point? I thought you were going to tell me how to combat overwhelm.
All this to say, I’m uniquely qualified in the “combat overwhelm” department. I’ve had oodles of practice and want to share some of the things that have worked for me over the years. First and foremost, taking care of my mental health is key. This involves working with my psychiatrist and my therapist to stay on top of it.
Secondly, you have to create systems that work for YOU. I spent so much time trying to make other people’s systems work for me. Everything felt so complicated. What I needed was simple and to the point. I talk a little bit about my Dailee Planner here, which is my lifeline. I’ve tried all the planners over the years but this is the first one I’ve been able to use consistently. I use my planner in conjunction with my Outlook Calendar. If it’s not on the calendar, I’m not remembering it exists. Every Sunday, I review my schedule for the next week in my outlook calendar and then write it in my planner. I use color coding to keep track of classes vs work vs my personal life.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, you absolutely have to make time for yourself. This is definitely something I am still working at. Even if it means letting something go sometimes, you have to make the time to do things you enjoy. For me, that’s going to the gym or cooking or baking. Prioritizing is key and learning to let go of what you can is absolutely a learned skill.
I hope you find this helpful! Be sure to like and subscribe to the blog to stay up to date!
