Five Things you can do When Life Overwhelms You

If you’re having a bad day, week, month even, it’s hard to sit down and focus on writing. Projects which you know are coming up, deadlines creep right along and you just get more and more behind by the moment. It drags on your spirit and takes your creativity with it. But, here are five things you can do that help me. I hope they will do the same for you.

1. Get one thing done. Make at least one task your focus and accomplish it, completely. You will feel better to have done at least one thing each day. Don’t slip and let it be something silly or too simple. You need that feeling of accomplishing something each day and you won’t get it from just putting away one book when there are twenty piled up and needing to be put away.
2. Go outside. Take a good long walk, make your muscles, your body work. Use up some physical energy to help get your mental energy back in line. Not only will you feel better but when you’re walking you will get all kinds of ideas, bring along a notebook and pen. You might even bring along a camera, see what little things you notice along the way, once you look outside yourself.
3. Have a hot, steamy shower. Use the really good conditioner on your hair, the one that needs 5 minutes to soak in and leaves your hair looking like a million bucks all day. Use a scrub brush on your skin, exfoliate and clean away all the negative energy and smuck that’s been building up around you. Clean your body so that you can dry off from the shower and feel fresh. Get yourself a great new shower body wash, like pink grapefruit or mint scented. How can you not feel better with such great smells enveloping you!
4. Go out for coffee (or tea). Take lots of blank paper (plain, not lined) and pens, pencil crayons, or wax crayons if you have them. Get a great latte or flavoured coffee, whatever kind of coffee smells great when you walk in that door. Take out your pens and paper, begin with a doodle. Draw anything, start with some shapes if you can’t get into it. Add feet, hands and a face to the shapes you drew. Stick on a hat. How about some accessories: a purse, a book, a garden hoe, a coffee cup, a laptop, a frying pan, anything that pops into your head. Now do another one. Draw at least until you finish your coffee. Jot down any ideas you get as you work, all the little things that come into your mind while you’re creating characters from the shapes you drew.
5. Take stock of what you have to do. Make a real list of everything you have to do, all the projects, the deadlines and everything from your day to day responsibilities – including family commitments, your job/ career and any freelancing you are doing. Don’t forget housework and all that fun stuff too. Now check your list, add anything you forgot when you started. When you are sure you have a full list read it over. Don’t let yourself feel trapped, intimidated or stressed from this mountain in front of you. You’re about to make it smaller, more manageable. How many things on that list are important things which you really, sincerely must do? How many things are day to day versus once a week, monthy or something which you can procrastinate on until your to-do list isn’t so full? Maybe most important of all, consider how many of the things on your list (which are not vital like taking care of children) are not giving you anything back for the time and energy you put into them? Cross off things which you have committed to do but are not appreciated or giving you something back in return. Don’t get stuck in the trap of doing things which really only drain you. Anything you cross off your list in this way you should also cross out of your life. This is a great way to lighten your to-do list and give yourself the break you’ve been wishing for.

I do not claim to be any kind of professional to help someone with depression or any kind of issues you are having. But, being someone who does get feeling trapped, overwhelmed and pretty discouraged at times I know the things that help me. This is my own list, things that do work for me. If you have things that work for you add them to the comments. We can all use more ideas to help us keep going, be productive and feel we are still a part of things, still have worth and more to contribute to the world (even if only our neighbourhood of it).

Word Grrls is my mad science experiment, my adventures with fame and world domination (politely). This is where I inspire people to create: invent mutations, cause change, bring colour into your world. Web writer since 1998. Find me on StumbleUpon , and Tumblr.

    

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