You’re one of those people who is always thinking. Your mind is racing and you’ve got new ideas that are frequently popping up.
I’m the same…
While this is great and I get to document these ideas and put them into action, it can also overwhelm me. It’s like drinking from a fire hydrant. You’ve got all this water flooding out, but how do you make practical use of it?
My body was the one who was inviting that I find a better way to manage it.
Whenever I was doing too many different things and behaving like an octopus managing air traffic control, my body would give me instant feedback. I’d find my shoulders tighten and I’d begin to get this light-headed dizzy feeling. As if I was spinning my head trying to focus on everything I had going on.
When this became enough of a problem for me I decided to deal with it. I worked out how to deal with all of the juggling balls I had up in the air.
The first thing I did, I dropped all of the balls I was juggling. I couldn’t handle juggling 7 balls so, I figured it was time to drop all of them and start with 1 again.
A lot of people struggle with this because of their pride. Thoughts like “I should be able to handle this. I can deal with more than 1 thing at a time. I’m not an amateur anymore.” When you have thoughts like this, then your pride is getting in your way and it’s time to let that go. It’s only making your life harder.
The next thing is gold. This alone will change your state of mind very quickly.
Do a brain dump. Brain noise is energy. The more brain noise you have the more energy you have circulating in your mind. One of the best ways to release that energy is to channel it through a pen onto paper.
You’re essentially delegating these thoughts to a piece of paper. Making that piece of paper your personal assistant for all those ideas and tasks.
Here’s the way I do a brain dump for myself and my clients…
List everything you feel like you need to do. Everything from the really big, long-term projects through to smaller, everyday tasks like taking the trash out.
Not only will doing this reduce the brain noise, but it will also help you see there aren’t as many things as you thought.
Now here’s the fun part. Look at each thing you’ve got listed and work out the longest amount of time it will take to finish it.
Do this with each thing on your list, set the date and get it done by then. By setting a date, you’ll most likely finish it. Deadlines work wonders for getting stuff done – I don’t need to explain the magic behind that one. Just be realistic with the timeframe otherwise you’ll feel defeated if you don’t make the timeframe. Too many feelings of defeat will stop you from starting the next time around.
Slow it down and free your brain space for the things that are more valuable in your life. You’re allowed to.