How does one quickly get out of an overwhelmed state?

How do you react when you are overwhelmed and feel paralyzed because everything seems an urgent priority? Chances are you try  to figure in your mind what your next move has to be. However, the harder you try, the cluttered  your mind becomes. That leads  to more anxiety, You  feel  stuck and  enter a spiral of procrastination.

Instead, follow this system:

Solution: First declutter your  mind

Step 1: pivot your thinking from the future to the past,

Step 2: then look at non-creative tasks you naturally dislike

Step.3: pick up the one you are sure you can finish within 5-10 min.

That will give you an instant sense of clarity to proceed further.

Example:

I just have 2 hours left. I feel guilty thinking about writing because I did not do it yesterday.

I am thinking about prospecting,

I have a meeting to prepare.

I feel guilty and do not know what to tackle first. Enough time is not left to finish those I would like to start with.

Step 1: I look at the past

Step 2: I look at tasks I naturally dislike: processing paper, data entry. Share my monthly revenue to Ursaaf. I remember  I was supposed to do it 1 week ago.

Step 3: I visit the Ursaaf website, login, and do it in less than 5 min.

The Pressure on my shoulder is reduced automatically. Now my next move is evident.

I challenge you to apply this simple tactic tomorrow as soon as you feel overwhelmed.

Heudou Tchihikou Aubin

A master chronic procrastinator who chose to execute on his dreams because of frustration and self-criticism