Have you ever been paralyzed by overwhelm?
I sat down at my desk on Monday morning, so excited to get to work! I had a strong morning, and was ready to put the pedal to the metal and smashed my to-do list!
I opened my planner and looked at allllll the items on the list.
Then I got up and poured another cup of coffee.
I went back and opened my e-mail, and saw allllll the unopened e-mails I had to deal with.
Then I microwaved some leftovers from the night before and ate them.
I watered the plants, sanitized the stovetop and bathroom counters, put a load of laundry in, poured another cup of coffee, ate the rest of the chocolate from my Christmas stocking, rearranged my sock drawer, changed out the defective plug in the living room, checked my social media, ate half a grapefruit, combed the cat, called in a prescription and changed my the batteries in the watch I never wear, periodically peeking at the desk to see if the elves had arrived yet to take care of my to-do list.
Have you ever had one of those days? Where you
JUST
CAN’T
GET TO WORK?
After brushing my teeth a second time, I sat down at the desk. I had to cross some things on my list. I picked the smallest thing and made a deal with myself. Do that, then you can go dust Ralph the silver rhino.
So I did. Crossing it off felt so good, I went ahead and did one more small item.
Then I took a break. I set a timer for 20 minutes, and went and did whatever I wanted and reminded myself to not feel bad about it. To take the break. 20 minutes later, I sat back down and worked through a bunch of e-mails. By then, I was on a roll.
Sometimes it’s the ACTIVATION ENERGY (getting started) that’s the hump you need to get over To-Do Overwhelm. Sit down, pick something and GO! Make a deal that you can take a break after, but usually you’ll be off and running, and that To-Do list will be a thing of the past!
GOOD LUCK!!
