I have had that feeling lately. My lungs feel tight. It feels as though a great weight has been placed on my chest. I feel underground, as though mounds of dirt are obscuring my normally optimistic, blue-sky outlook. I feel as though I am trying to dig my way back up to clear, unpolluted air again. My muscles feel tired as I push forward to a new task all the while my unyielding brain reminds me of the mountain of tasks waiting to be completed next.
Has this ever happened to you? Despite your best efforts, have you suddenly found yourself buried under the weight of incomplete tasks? When we become aware that we are buried under a list of too many things to do, it is critical to our well being and self-confidence that we dig ourselves out.
Here are five simple, tried and true steps to quickly restore balance to your task list and your life:
Step One: Breathe.
The difference between anxiety and excitement is often our breath. Breathing brings oxygen, our life force, back in our bodies to calm our nervous system and create the energy we need to get work done.
Step Two: Write down ALL of your incomplete tasks.
While seeing everything you have yet to complete on one sheet of paper can be incredibly overwhelming, it gets all of this information out of your mind. When we don’t have an organized list of what we need to do, our mind is often distracted from the task at hand by thoughts of other things we need to do. Writing it all down frees up your mental space to actually get work done, rather than your mind racing from anxious thought to anxious thought.
Step Three: Choose what you will do, what you will delegate and what you will erase.
You either have to do the task, ask someone else to do it or choose not to do it. There are no other alternatives. When we perpetually push tasks forward on our calendar without completing them, our mental energy stays tied to the incomplete task. Completing, delegating or erasing the task allows you to feel a sense of completion, which creates mental energy.
Step Four: Be present with each task you choose to complete.
When you complete a task, be fully present with it. Focus your mind and your senses on the work in front of you. Don’t allow interruptions to derail you. Research clearly shows that our minds are not as effective with multi-tasking as we think they are. Mono-tasking with presence will allow you to move through your to-do list quickly and efficiently.
Step Five: Each time you complete a task, take a deep breath, exhale and say, “peace restored.”
Celebration is a great way to build momentum. As we breathe and celebrate the completion of a task, we are acknowledging the positive steps we are taking. Although it may take a while to achieve the end result of a manageable to-do list, celebrating each complete item gives us a momentary feeling of peace and the encouragement to keep going.