You are no alone. We’ve all experienced that feeling when you look at your to-do list for the day and feel positively overwhelmed. The to-do list looks insurmountable. And you just want to take the day off and go on a cruise.
I’ve been there. You’ve been there. And we’ll both be there again. Maybe even today.
So what hope is there? Here are a few things you can try next time that list gets too long.
1. Pray.
Start talking to God. Ask him to prioritize your day. Ask him to give you the strength you need.
You might find out that God tells you to not do certain things on your list. Maybe he’ll shorten the list or refocus your priorities completely.
Don’t skip this step. God loves listening to our prayers and answers even silly ones like feeling overwhelmed.
2. Ask, “If I didn’t do this, what’s the worst that would happen?”
You probably won’t need to do this step, because God will most likely remove most of these types of things. But you might find out you’ve been putting things on your to-do list that don’t really matter that much.
I’m not saying you should move an item to a future to-do list. Sometimes you might need to just delete it completely.
Will anyone really miss it if you don’t blog today? Do you really need to go to that party? Do you really need to change your Fantasy Football roster?
3. Do the stuff you hate first.
Now that you’re into your list, prioritize. Get rid of the stuff you hate to do first. Once you get that off your list, you’ll probably have no problem finding motivation. The fun stuff is easy to do as your motivation decreases throughout the day.
4. Shut off distractions and go.
Finally, if you’re still feeling overwhelmed, shut off all distractions. Turn off the internet if you can. Or at least turn off notifications and shut down the Facebook window. Just start working for a solid block of time.
You’ll probably find out you can actually get through your list if you just focus.
We all feel overwhelmed. But those feelings don’t need to dictate what you actually do. Don’t spend time worrying about how much time you have. Get done what you can, and then give the rest to God.