08
Apr

Stop Feeling Overwhelmed | My Top 3 Tips | Organization Direct

Overwhelmed with Paperwork
Stop Feeling Overwhelmed

What do you do to stop feeling overwhelmed?  It is Spring…my second favorite season in the year. I always say that I am going to spend more time in the yard and plant some flowers, clean up the yard debris (we live in the woods).  I have a vision of what the yard will look like by the middle of May…blooming with flowers, a nice green lawn, our little girl on her swing set playing.   Oops….back to reality folks!

YES, I GET OVERWHELMED

I would be lying to you if I said that I don’t periodically experience the feeling overwhelmed anxiety. If you read last week’s blog, you know that I’m now taking a more active role in my parent’s life…even if it is just to check in with them more than in the past. Is it a big deal? Absolutely not!  Unless I let it become a big deal.  It just seems to be one more thing that I “have” to do.

GET ORGANIZED AND STOP FEELING OVERWHELMED

One way to stop feeling overwhelmed is to be organized. This has been an amazing week, full of phone calls of parents wanting to help their children and business owners wanting to get their business paperwork organized.  Spring is definitely in the air! Or, maybe It is because we are at the end of tax season…I’m not sure.

I’m part of the Sandwich Generation.  I now have parents who need me to regularly check up on them, adult children who count on me to help out occasionally and a grandchild that I (my husband and I) are raising.  I just registered her for Kindergarten last week…Yikes!  I spent 1 week in rehab in a nursing home with my father and came back to handle Kindergarten registration.  This blows me away!

My point, there are certain areas of my daily life that have to be organized. Other things, I can release to someone else.

THINGS I DID THIS WEEK TO STOP FEELING OVERWHELMED

Here is what I do to help stop feeling overwhelmed:

  1. Spend some “me” time.  I don’t care if it is only 15 minutes in the morning and again in the evening. I will spend some quiet time just sitting on the deck or front porch…listening to the birds (now that I think we finally have found Spring here in Virginia) or reading something for me.  What I don’t do…practice retail therapy!
  2. Get help. I found someone that is willing to come in and help me with the little things that I don’t enjoy doing. Spring cleaning! Just because I am an Organizer doesn’t mean that I’m super-human. I am the first to admit that I love to have someone help me with the things that I either don’t have the time to do, or just don’t want to do myself.
  3. Schedule a vacation. I decided to stop feeling overwhelmed and stop procrastinating. It is Spring break here and, of course, we didn’t go anywhere. We don’t have children in school right now so Spring break doesn’t mean a lot to me. But a planned vacation does. So, we made all of the arrangements to take a vacation mid-June to a place that I have never gone before. You’ll have to watch for details later. I can tell you, though, that I am Very excited about what I will be seeing and, more than anything, how we will get there. It probably isn’t a vacation that everyone would enjoy (or even consider a vacation) but that doesn’t matter. This is about what I enjoy!

To Stop Feeling Overwhelmed…take action, release things that you can’t control, let others help and do something for you! You deserve it. Take care of yourself…til next time!

Linda Clevenger, Organization Direct

www.organizationdirect.com