How do you deal with feelings of overwhelm in your daily life? Share your tips and techniques for managing overwhelm and staying focused on the present moment. What strategies have worked best for you?
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Top comments (12)
The best cure for me is generally enough sleep 🙈. I just feel refreshed in the morning. Otherwise I unfortunately didn’t find something that can help
The best solution ever 👍 I do the same
Glad to know I am not alone ☺️
I have 3 kids, a 9 yo girl, an 8 yo boy and a 5 months baby.
Both my kids excel in sports, gymnastics, cheerleading, bjj, swimming, etc.
We now getting ready to go to Hawaii (we live in New Zealand) as they are both representing NZ in Cheerleading.
I am quite a workaholic, I drive from school to the office, office to school, school to gym, pool, etc the whole day. They (and myself) even train Saturdays and Sundays. And I work a few extra hours while I wait for them to finishbtheir trainings (4 to 6 hours)
I have zero free time during the day, and I used to fight amateur boxing, muay thai. Etc. I had to stop cos I broke my knee and waiting for surgery. However I swim every day at least 1.5km.
Having so many responsibilities makes me stay focus and not wasting time. I know what time I need to be up, what time to drop kids to school, what time I need to lead meetings with my team of developers (I'm a CTO), I know what time to drive the kids around and what time I have to exercise.
I hardly have time to think, I just DO things without questioning. Which avoids me from "thinking" about the future or the past.
Having so many things to do gave me structure and discipline.
I guess those are the two words that help me stay calm, happy and not overwhelmed.
STRUCTURE AND DISCIPLINEI admit that your story is not totally new to me (in the apocryphal sense) but it's challenging to reconcile with the time to read and post here for example (staying focused and not wasting time, hardly having time to think, just doing things, avoiding thinking about the future or past).
I feel full time busy too in many ways, but in relation to that, I've shifted focus over time, reduced time consumed by motor transport and wage/salary focus and raised the time I give my children (also 3), local community and personal passions. Where once I'd drive an hour to deliver a child to school, now I walk them to school in less than an hour (different school of course). Where once I'd given the wage/salary focus 8 full time hours five days a week and more hours of availability and thinking and prep at times on top of that, I now clock on and off for 5 hour days on that focus (wage/salary).
Given your account here I'd be very interested to hear from your spouse and children. If only because behind every super busy, super efficient man there's a back story too, often quite contrasting, yet picture completing. Not least when he has no time to think of the future or past.
While I appreciate your insights, I understand the challenge of finding time amidst a busy schedule. It's a delicate balance between staying focused and engaging in meaningful discussions like this one.
You mentioned shifting your focus over time to prioritize family, community, and personal passions, which resonates with me. It's remarkable how altering our perspectives can lead to more fulfilling lives. For instance, I've also transitioned from prioritizing work and enduring long commutes to dedicating more time to my children and community involvement.
Seven years ago, we made the challenging decision to move countries from South America (Chile) to New Zealand. Despite owning property and having stability back home, the limited time I had with my newborn daughter due to work demands prompted the change. Now, I live just 200 meters away from the beach, with the school conveniently located across the road, and my office a mere 15-minute drive away.
My daily routine involves walking my kids to school, chauffeuring them to various activities, and enjoying family swims at least once a week. On weekends, we cherish our time together over breakfast at our favorite cafes.
Balancing work, social life, and marital harmony is undoubtedly challenging, but my wife's unwavering support and our equitable division of tasks make it manageable. We ensure to carve out two or three hours daily for meaningful conversations over drinks and food.
I've been encouraged to share my entire journey of relocating countries, considering the myriad experiences encountered along the way. Perhaps, one day, I'll pen down the tale, hoping it might offer insights to others navigating similar paths.
I trust you're faring well with the changes you've embraced and continue striving to enhance your lifestyle further!
Ironic to read your story, as I'm in Tasmania (similarities with NZ, as ii's a Island with a temperate clime and an insular, distant from the hustle and bustle of the globalist world, feel), place with its fair share of Chilean immigrants too (one of my wife's best friends is Chilean and the focus this island has on Antarctic and fisheries research and its vibrant arts and music community, seems to appealing well with the Chilean mindset - also with close antarctic ties and a large fisheries industry and research sector).
Given your broken knee experience, ironic too, that right now I have two broken wrists (after a cycling accident) and so have had to come to grips with being a near useless burden to my family for some weeks now, celebrating every milestone like a new child (my wife joked about starting a baby book for me as I routinely announce: Look ma, I can [insert activity X that needs a hand or two, that we all take for granted until we have no use of our hands]). Only this week I'm back at the keyboard in shifts, with one hand stronger than the other and dealing with rising aches that demand rests in splits again for a while to keep the wrists immobilised or a while and recover). I have had cause to wonder how a single man without such a wonderful supporting wife, would manage with such a condition, underscoring the importance of a gratitude for our family and support.
For me usually going for a run works as immediate help... otherwise making sure to have enough sleep and exercise in general.
If I have a stressful and busy period at work (due to some big release), then I guy myself a new Lego when things calm down or just go on trip or hike.
I open Netflix on the side and whenever I am burned out, I get myself entertained for 15 minutes. That takes away the reality for a bit and then when I am back it gets me back into mode.
Another thing that works is reading a book (a physical one)
Last but not least is working on easy personal projects or practicing some leetcode problems (won't suggest this one as you might get even more frustrated if you are not able to solve the question)
I still haven't mastered overwhelm in general. I think avoiding overplanning helps a lot: I know if I plan too many things for a day, I'll end up procrastinating and end up needing to do all in a very short time.
I've written on avoiding distractions and staying focused on a lower level.
Short meditations (twice a day at least) help me a lot with mental overwhelm.
Allow yourself five minutes, inhale deeply, and then reconnect with your inner self