The first thing I did was get someone to help me with some business issues that were on a timeline. A VA (virtual assistant) can be such a treasure at high times of work load, it can take the pressure off. The second thing I did was prioritise the most pressing tasks at hand. The third thing I did was sit down and read an e-book. Probably something you would think would be high on the priority list. I had heard about a technique for time management and so I googled this technique and came across a fabulous e-book. I am so glad I didn’t do overwhelm for that hour and instead armed myself with a very valuable tool. This technique is called the ‘Pomodoro Technique’.
As a business coach I coach people on time management so I should know what I should do. Coaching can be just like the cook, who doesn’t like cooking at home, or the mechanic that never gets around to fixing their own car. Well, coaches can be just the same, they never get around to practicing the time management skills they instill in their clients.
So, back to my hour time out of reading the Pomodoro Technique, I have to say it was the best hour I spent arming myself with a really easy technique to get myself out of overwhelm and back into productive mode. Any of us can do overwhelm so well that we waist time agonizing over what has to be done and what hasn’t been done that we actually don’t achieve anything. Next minute a few hours or even worse a whole week has gone by and nothing has been achieved. Once I read the e-book, I decided to give it a go and see if it worked. By the end of the day my ‘to do list’ had shrunk and I was no longer feeling overwhelmed and drained. I somehow felt relieved and satisfied that I had achieved so much in such a short space of time.
Do you do overwhelm well? If so, I recommend spending an hour or two and have a read of this e-book, you might end up just like me and pleasantly surprised. Now, I don’t do overwhelm so much anymore, I do Pomodoro instead!