Do you ever get so overwhelmed that you just feel stuck? The list of things you need to do and the demands that other people make on you keep piling up and you feel that you just can’t get anything done. Is it possible to use just five to ten focused minutes for getting unstuck and moving on to a productive day?
YES! I have to do this all the time and I can tell you it works. Here are 5 tips for how to do it.
1 – Make a list
As you probably know by now, my #1 go-to method when I am feeling overwhelmed is to make a list. If you haven’t tried that, just grab whatever paper you have handy (something cute like THIS or a
There are a couple of ways to do this and you should pick the one that works for you. 1 – just write whatever pops into your head. You can organize the list later. 2 – create category topics and write things within the appropriate category.
Either way, when you finish writing (i.e., when you can’t think of anything else), put category names beside each task. You might also prioritize the tasks by urgency (meaning they have to be done today or tomorrow) or by importance to you (meaning you want to get them done by today or tomorrow).
2 – Put a star beside your 5-minute tasks
Now take a look at your planner. If you feel as if you are already scheduled like an airport runway, I understand. Many days are like that. But see if there is any tiny chunk of time (maybe while you are waiting in the carpool line to pick up your child or while you are waiting for something to boil on the stove).
A couple of things you could do with your planner – 1 – put an asterisk or a “5” or some other symbol beside any tiny chunk of time; 2 – list your five-minute tasks on a post-it note and just keep it in your planner. When or if you find a small chunk of time, check your list. Can one of those tasks be completed then?
3 – Take baby steps
But some tasks just cannot be done in only a few minutes. So what then? Take one baby step at a time. Take that big task and jot down small things that could be done that would lead to completing the big task. When I say “small things that could be done”, I mean tasks that take less than five to ten minutes to complete. I wrote more about how to do this in this post.
Doing just one baby step task at a time still keeps you moving steadily toward getting a larger task done. I do this all the time in my work as a teacher. That pile of assignments to grade is never going to go away. And I am never going to have a large block of time to get them all graded at once. So I grade them in small chunks of time. Believe it or not, it does get done and it gets done surprisingly quickly when I break it down and just do what I can in five to ten minute chunks.
4 – Getting unstuck with creative projects
Focusing work in five to ten minute chunks also works for creative projects. If you are working on some project such as writing or an artistic work or redecorating or rearranging your space and you feel stuck, try just sitting quietly for five to ten minutes with that paper and pen handy. Close your eyes if you need to, but try focusing your thoughts and your energy on just this one project. Then write down whatever comes to mind. This really works for getting past any kind of “block”. You may need to do this several times before a truly brilliant idea comes to mind. But all of the thoughts and ideas you generate in this time are worth keeping since they may have great ideas for later.
5 – When you’re so overwhelmed that you don’t know where to start
When you have a huge project staring you in the face and you feel overwhelmed, try that list-making technique again. I find it’s helpful for me to just write down everything I can think of that will need to be done for this project, in no particular order. Once I have that gigantic list, I then organize my list into categories such as “do first” and “do later”. (Fancy titles, I know!) Then, within the “do first” category, I put stars beside the tasks that would be most helpful to absolutely get done first because they will lead to getting other tasks done. Then, before I start hyperventilating over the size of the list, I choose one task and just work on that for five to ten minutes. Somehow, just getting started, even on a small task, makes me feel like I am making some progress.
Getting unstuck is difficult. Try one of these tips and see how it works for you. And please share your ideas!