Weekly Happiness Note August 8, 2024

5 Simple Ways to Ease Overwhelm and Still Get Things Done

Aug 08, 2024

"We don’t have to go on a vacation to recharge. Recharging is about caring for our basic needs."

Happy Thursday! 🌞

Do you feel overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough time? Do you find the only way to take a break and recharge is to go on vacation? In this week’s happiness note, ‘5 Simple Ways to Ease Overwhelm and Still Get Things Done,’ I share some practices for being productive without burning out.

Check out this week's note, including a weekly planning framework for August 12th - August 18th. ❤ Emily

Here is a short 90-second video that highlights this week’s topic, and for the rest, subscribe below:

This Week’s Featured Topic:

5 Simple Ways to Ease Overwhelm and Still Get Things Done

How often do you feel like you have too much to do and not enough time?

Do you tend to get overwhelmed by feeling like you’re always behind? Do you sometimes wonder why life feels stressful? If so, you’re not alone.

Many of us struggle with unhealthy stress, but there are ways we can ease the load. I believe life is what we make of it. If we find ourselves stuck in overwhelm and burnout, it’s a sign we need to shift our habits and views. When we show up daily with the same attitude, beliefs, and approach to life, we will inevitably re-create the same reality over and over—for good and not so good.

Nobody is coming to save you from yourself; thankfully, nobody needs to. We have everything we need to empower our lives and choose how we show up.

Overwhelm is a habitual pattern and mindset we create over time. It’s also a habit we can break over time. The first important step is to recognize that you shape your life experience by how you choose to show up each day. How we react to life defines our life. You can ease overwhelm and still lead a full life.

Here are my favorite practices to ease overwhelm. These reminders help me see that I have more than enough time to enjoy my definition of a full life. Perhaps they will be a good fit for you, too.

1. Get Crystal Clear

When we are crystal clear on our priorities, we are more likely to follow our own success path and thrive.

It’s important to know what your definition of success includes. What does your big picture of happiness look like? Who are the important people in your life? What relationships do you want to invest in? Who and what drains your energy? What does ideal balance look like to you? When looking at your overall ideal picture of life balance, consider all areas of your life, like career, family, health, spiritual practice, fun, adventure, etc. Then, get clear on how you’d like the overall picture of your life to fit together.

Knowledge is power. When we are clear on what happiness feels like, we can approach our days in pursuit of our personal credo.

When we aren’t clear on our definition of success, we tend to mismanage our priorities, time, and tasks. This mismanagement often spirals us into overwhelm. Lack of clarity is often the culprit for confusion and stress. If you want to get a clear snapshot of your current level of stress and additional resources to combat stress, check out this stress and anxiety test from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley.

2. Stick to Your Script

Stick to your own script, and don’t get distracted by other people’s agendas and highlight reels. As Mark Twain famously said, “Comparison is the death of joy.” He was right. Everyone is doing the best they can in life. We overcomplicate our lives by comparing ourselves to others. We lose our sense of direction when we follow other people’s credos closer than we honour our own inner guide.

There will always be shiny things, people, and paths that can distract us. These distractions tempt us to lose focus on what feels right and good for us. One way to avoid falling into the comparison and distraction trap is to get more comfortable saying no.

We say yes to what feels right, when we say no thanks to everything that doesn’t. Trust in your feelings to guide you towards what feels right and away from what doesn’t. Then, follow through and honour yourself by sticking to your script.

3. Clear Clutter and Simplify

Getting rid of clutter in our physical space helps create a feeling of spaciousness in our lives. We can use the changing seasons as our cue to de-clutter cupboards and organize the space around us. When our physical space is organized, we are less likely to buy an excess of things we don’t need. When our space is cluttered and unorganized, we don’t really know what we need.

Buying excess stuff we don’t need, leads to feeling overcrowded in our physical space. It can also cause us to feel out of control of our finances. To simplify our lives and our space, it’s a great habit to keep clutter at bay and only buy what we need. At our house, every time we buy a new household item or piece of clothing, we get rid of one item. We either donate it to a cause or give it to someone we know who would appreciate receiving it.

We can apply the same principle we use to clear clutter when organizing our time and schedule. It’s hard to get where you are going if you don’t have a map. I’ve found it really helpful to sketch out a broad yearly plan, a monthly plan, a weekly plan, and a daily plan for my time.

Getting the information out of my head and onto paper immediately helps me feel at ease. Being organized and having a clear picture of my responsibilities, commitments, appointments, travel, etc., helps me see where I can create spaciousness. It helps me go with the flow more. Having a clear picture helps me know when it’s important to say no to added commitments. Being over-committed is a sure way to invite stress and overwhelm into our lives.

If you don’t already organize your time and schedule, have some fun creating a personalized map of your priorities and activities related to your definition of success. Being organized isn’t something solely reserved for people with Type A tendencies. Systems of organization will give you more freedom and joy. Give it a try.

4. Quiet the Noise

We need daily quiet space to soften the external noise we are inundated with. External noise is plentiful these days. Think of the steady stream of breaking news that’s hard to wrap our minds around. Daily demands and sales pitches come at us through media and advertisements. Add to that other people’s opinions and agendas. This is all even before we consider our own thoughts swirling around in our minds.

All of this noise isn’t bad. We simply need to be able to take a break so we can reset and filter as needed. The added noise of life becomes overwhelming when we don’t have healthy boundaries. It becomes stressful when we don’t train ourselves to experience quiet space and downtime. How we create quiet space is as unique as we are. There isn’t a right or wrong way.

We can help ease a busy mind by focusing on one thing at a time. We can put parameters in place to create a quieter environment around us. Some ideas include choosing regular times to turn off your phone or leave it behind (you’ll survive). Only check email at certain times during the day. Don’t keep your phone in your bedroom at night. I’m sure you can add to the list. The idea is to be proactive. Instead of applying constant pressure and force, set yourself up to move with the ebb and flow of life. This life adventure can be bumpy. Give yourself lots of space to breathe.

5. Recharge Regularly

Along with reducing noise, we also need to implement regular ways to recharge. Recharging can be straightforward, like getting a good night’s sleep regularly. Or fuelling our bodies with nutrient-dense food and drinking lots of fresh water. We don’t have to go on vacation or escape our lives to recharge. We give ourselves room to recharge when we stop pushing ourselves hard to get things done. There is no ease or flow in force. When we push too hard in life, we often get less done because we are bogged down by stress. Too much seriousness and strain isn’t fun, and the added stress leads to getting less done.

Do what you can to stay in balance. Moderation is key. Forward regular motion helps us stay in a good flow. When moving with the natural flow of life, we accomplish more with greater ease and enjoyment. Big highs and lows are harder to recover from. When we know we have upcoming stress loads, we can plan ahead to take extra good care of ourselves. When we have busy stretches in our schedule, it’s important to be mindful to stop adding new things to the pile.

Recharging is about using common sense. It’s caring for our basic needs and nurturing ourselves like we would a small child. When we take care of ourselves, we don’t just get to lead full lives; we get to enjoy the amazing ride of having a full life.

It’s up to you. How will you lead your full life?

❤ Emily

This Week’s Quote:

Limited on time or don’t feel like reading

Check out this week’s Video instead:

Planning for Next Week📝:

Use the framework below to plan your upcoming week: August 12th - August 18th. Some people like to map out their upcoming week on Friday to ease into the weekend, knowing they are ready to hit the road running on Monday. Others (like myself) have a Sunday planning ritual. Do what works best for you. Over the years, in supporting many people in their planning and goal-setting, it seems to work best to pick a day of the week that’s easy to stick to so that your weekly planning becomes a habit and ritual.

What are your wins? Before you organize the upcoming week, ‘August 12th - August 18th’, reflect on the week you are wrapping up. What are your wins (big or small)? What is something you are grateful for? What have you learned about yourself this week? Record your reflections in your journal or the Notes section of the Planner Printout. Feel free to comment below (others in this community will also be able to see your comment) or hit reply to this note and share directly with me.

Planner PDF printout: This printout is from the ‘Fall in Love with Your Life, Seasonal Planner’ and will give you the framework and planning system to help you organize your upcoming week: The week of August 12th - August 18th. Click here to access. You will need to enter a password to open the PDF. It’s in all caps: FILWYL

Accountability: If you’d like an accountability check-in to support you in making the weekly planning ritual a regular habit, just hit reply to this email after you’ve organized your week and let me know you’re organized and complete. Feel free to share your weekly intention/power word. I’m always happy to be the check-in support and would love to celebrate your wins.

Instructional Video: Get free access to this mini 20-minute video course. It will show you how to easily use the ‘Fall in Love With Your Life, Seasonal Planner’ method of organizing your week. Go here to access the free video course.

Priorities: What are your top three priorities for the upcoming week? What are some of the daily ways you will prioritize yourself? Remember to balance your energy output with energy input. Think: What has been energizing me lately? What has been draining my energy?

Connect with Nature: How often do you get outdoors? If you hardly ever do, see what feels different if you aim to get outside a little more throughout the week. If you regularly go outside each day, see what shifts if you add in one more outing—even if it’s sitting on the porch while you drink your coffee/tea.

Journal reflection points prompted by nature: Notice how you sleep when you spend time outside during the day, compared to when you hardly or don’t get outdoors. How does being outside affect your sleep cycle and your overall energy the next day?

Or come Share in our Facebook Group

Share your intention for the week of August 12th - August 18th. What are you calling in? What is your power word/phrase?

Weekly Happiness Note with Emily Madill

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