Feeling Overwhelmed is the feeling of the moment! We decided to sell our home because there was so much to do.
We experienced significant resistance and stress due to the sheer volume of work that needed to be completed. This included painting the walls and doors, touching up the kitchen cabinets, installing new flooring, and extensive cleaning.
I had to find a way to cope with this amount of stress. Otherwise, I’ll have a Meltdown.
How to cope at the moment?
With time, I found out that some coping mechanisms work better than others. I have two practices that have helped me:
1 – Take one breath at a time.
2 – Then, find pleasure in the task.
When there’s a pile of undone things, it can feel overwhelming — how in the world can we tackle all of that? It can be stressful and shut us down from actually doing the work.
How to practice?
The first step is
👉I make a list of things I need to do. Possibly a long list. Making a simple list like this can really help get everything out in plain sight and let you know what you’re up against. This is where people often feel overwhelmed, so if you get stuck here, move to the next part.
The second step is
👉I make a shortlist of what I want to focus on today. I can’t make the whole list today, so I chop it down to what I would love to accomplish today. I try to keep this list short so I don’t get too overwhelmed, and it feels doable. If it doesn’t feel doable, make it shorter!
Finally
👉I pick one task and really focus on that—one small one, something doable that I can use to get some momentum. For example, I paint all 25 doors, front and back. I did it by section. It took me two weeks to do it. Then, last, the front door.
When my mind starts to go to all the other things on the list … I return to that one task and give it my full focus.
You might often feel overwhelmed because you still have an enormous pile left, and it’s ok. So remember to take one thing at a time, so I take one breath at a time.
– Author Unknown
Pause, breathe. Repair the universe, then proceed.
OK, so we do one at a time… the challenge is that it can still often feel like we’re just trying to get through the list, cranking through tasks, and not really loving what we’re doing.
What if you could find delight in the tasks? What if it could be an adventure? Ultimately, this road will take us on fresh adventures: sell the house and move to New Zealand!
As I take each task off the list and give it my entire focus… I try to find a reason why I care about this. There’s a reason to be lit up by it. It works most of the time, but not always. I will not lie. It’s demanding and stressful, and it’s a lot of work!
It is probably the hardest at the end of the process: be ready to move out if each new prospective client wants to see the property. The house is mostly empty and has to stay this way for people to see the capacity and potential of the house.
It’s been difficult, but there is a way to overcome or at least help minimize the difficulties.
What might light you up about your next task today?