Overwhelmed at work, now what?

Overwhelmed (Photo credit: puck90)

Every once in a while life gets… crazy. Like out of control, can’t think past the next few minutes without feeling anxiety creep in. Well once in a while has turned into the norm now. Not at home, no, that’s my solace. Loud, screamy, jumping, boisterous solace, but still… my solace.

Work has been out of hand, more than I can handle, 1200 emails in my inbox demanding answers type of crazy. Occasionally it threatens to over take me and smother me.

So, how do you deal with life when it gets crazy?

1. Take a deep breath. Really. Start with this and work on breathing.

2. Accept the fact that you can’t finish everything when it’s too much, and let go of the need to do it all.

3. Find the most critical thing (or in my case the one that currently the most demanding since many are priority 1) and focus on that. Determine to finish that 1 task.

4. Avoid all other distractions. Don’t answer the phone, ims or other emails. In fact, don’t even open your email. Keep avoiding until that 1 task is done.

Repeat these 4 steps over and over.

At the end of the day it won’t be all completed and that’s ok. You did what you could and you’ll do it again tomorrow. But for now, you move on to your solace.