What Works: What to do when there’s too much to do

The projects are piling high like the snow on the summit of the Sierra Mountains. You are suffocated. You can’t breathe. The air is thin. There’s too much to do and no time to do it. You’ve hit overwhelm and you shut down. You Netflix and chill or find some way to forget about it, just making the matter worse. The pile gets bigger the more time you don’t tend to it, which just makes the overwhelm worse.

It happens. It happens to the best of us. And, let me tell you, the better you are at what you do – the MORE it happens! Great people, like you, are busy.

Don’t worry. When it comes to overwhelm you are not alone. However, you can defeat it.

Here is a simple process I use when I just feel like hiding under the covers and avoiding my massive stack of projects.

I say no. I had to get really good at no, or at least “NO”TIFICATION. If people don’t know you are drowning, you can’t be supported. Many of us will drown, but we’ll try to get it all done. We know we can’t, so end up at the bottom of the project pile, our stomachs full of coffee, and our brains fried. If you are struggling, TELL SOMEONE. Say no to the new stuff (or at least not right now) and work on WHAT IS.
Get real with what is. Its time to face the music. What is actually on your plate? List out your FIVE most pressing tasks and STOP. List pressure is real. Even though you don’t have to do it all at once, making a list of more than five items each day will increase your stress versus lighten it.
Pick ONE. That’s right. ONE. Make it a short thing, an hour or less. Do it. Feel that? That’s accomplishment.
Reward yourself. Now, pick a FUN task on your list. If you totally hate what you are doing, that’s another discussion we need to have. Reward yourself with the very projects you would use to procrastinate. Set a timer for the project. Ding! Timer goes off. Now do something a little less pleasurable. I call this staggering and its staggeringly effective.
Take breaks. Get up. Stretch. Dance. Whatever you need to do to move your body during the day, do it. And, for goodness sakes, eat! I’m talking to you people who eat lunch at your desk, eat maybe half and stop because you’ve let it get cold. Care for yourself like you would care for someone you really love, a child, a dear friend, your mom. You wouldn’t starve your mom now would you?
Be nice to yourself! I’m talking about the way you talk to yourself. If we let others talk to us the way we talk to us, most of us would need a restraining order. What you say to yourself and the language you use with others does make a difference. Look up neural-linguistic programming if you don’t believe me. What we say to ourselves can set us up for success or defeat us before we start. Choose the first one.
Ok. So you’ve procrastinated enough by reading this column. Which, by the way, I’m so grateful you decided to procrastinate with me today. But now it’s time to get to work, get out from under the pile, and celebrate yourself. Think it. Say it. Live it! The floor is yours, Carson City.

SAY HELLO AND GET INSPIRED IN PERSON
COMING SOON! Start your week off right by listening to “Drive Time” with Diane Dye Hansen on KNVC 95.1 from 6 am to 8 am on Monday mornings. Happy, motivational music, positive spins on negative news, interviews with people in the community who can bring joy into your life. Live coaching in studio! Email diane@whatworkscoaching.com if you would like to be featured as a guest and have something GREAT to share with the Carson Valley.

ENTREPRENEURS! Spring into action on your business! Entrepreneur’s Assembly, Carson City chapter meets Wednesday, April 11, 2018 in The Studio at Adams Hub for Innovation and every second Wednesday of each month. Free mastermind group voted Entrepreneur’s Assembly Chapter of the Year 2017. 5:30 p.m.

NEED GUIDANCE? GET IT FREE. Motivation Monday returns to Adams Hub for Innovation April 2nd. Email grow@adamshub.com to schedule two free 30-minute sessions or one free hour to help you with your career, business, or life.

GET HELP FOR YOUR TEAM/LEADERSHIP. Need motivation for your team? Customized talks, workshops, and consulting programs are available. Schedule a complimentary consultation at whatworkscoaching.com.

What Works Coaching
Diane Dye Hansen is the Chief Inspiration Officer of What Works Coaching, an individual and organizational coaching and consulting firm based in Carson City, Nevada. She has 20 years of experience working with top corporations, growing businesses, motivated entrepreneurs, and individuals hungry for a fresh start. She is also the creator of DOCS Theory, also known as The Theory of CrappertunityTM, a mindset and change theory which defines the moment crisis creates more opportunity than would have existed without the crisis.

Diane holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Marketing from Cal State San Bernardino and a Masters in Communication Management from the University of Southern California. She is also the Chief Executive Officer of What Works Recruitment, a company which specializes in filling hard-to-fill positions and fitting talent with culture. Her column appears every Monday, and sometimes Tuesday, in Carson Now.