A Counter-Intuitive Approach to Overwhelm

I wanted to share a simple thing that I found helpful yesterday.

I don't know about you, but for me December is typically a whirlwind of hecticness (spellcheck is telling me that I made that word up).

Between end-of-the-year deadlines, holiday preparations/events, and other random things that come up, it can feel like you're just trying to keep your head above water.

I recently saw a quote that helped me to put things in perspective:

"The time to relax is when you don't have time for it." -Sydney J. Harris

I took this to heart yesterday.

My to-do list was a mile long. I was feeling overwhelmed. I wasn't sure how I would get everything done.

My inclination was to park myself at the kitchen table, behind my computer, and stay there all day, finishing tasks one by one.

Although I really wanted to get outside and go for a jog/walk, I felt like I didn't have time.

Then I made a decision, which seemed counter-intuitive.

I decided to do it anyway. And was SO glad I did.

I threw on some fleeced leggings and wool socks (which didn't match my blue shoes at all… and made me look like I have cankles).

I bundled up in my bright orange winter coat (not realizing until later that I was pretty much dressed like a clown).

And I enjoyed an amazing 45 minutes in the fresh air.

This helped me to:

• De-stress and put things into perspective

• Feel better

• Have more energy for the tasks ahead of me

• Be more efficient when I returned.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, I encourage you to remember that making time for ourselves can make a big difference in how efficiently and energetically we show up in life.

This post was originally written on December 22, 2018.