How to stay focused when everything feels stressful and Overwhelming

Feeling overwhelmed can strike at any time. Let’s face it, the world we all live in today can be very overwhelming for most people at some time or another.

Fast-paced jobs, deadlines, pressures at work, family concerns, making enough money, saving enough money, getting on the property ladder and staying on it, keeping up with technology, keeping up with everyone in your circle, the list can go on and on leading to more and more feelings of overwhelm.

When you feel this level of overwhelm and stress, you may find it hard to focus on what you are doing and need to do.

Your thoughts can begin to drift off into areas you don’t want them to go to, and you can feel as if you are trapped.

Even if you are aware that your thoughts are irrational, unhelpful or maybe unfounded, it can be difficult to stop them from popping up in your head, causing more and more complications and distractions and overwhelm.

Why is it so hard to organise my thoughts?

The phrase, ”I have too many tabs open in my head” will resonate with many women. The list of things to do seems to be never-ending with work, family, friends, and appointments. On and on it can go, so many things to be thinking about and yet seemingly so little time to do everything. Is it any wonder you can struggle to organise all of the thoughts you have in your head at any one time?

Life these days seems to go at a hundred miles an hour, if you don’t stay on top of everything, pretty soon the whole thing will collapse like a house of cards. This situation leads to feelings of stress and overwhelm, and eventually, you can start to shut down.

The reason it is so difficult to organise thoughts is that you don’t have procedures in place to deal with these situations when they arise. Don’t worry though, help is at hand. Below are tips you can use to start organising your mind

How to stay focused when everything feels stressful and overwhelming

Staying focused under duress can be incredibly difficult. The trick is in learning to control the thoughts you are having. This isn’t as difficult as you may think. There are many ways you can start to control your thoughts so you remain focused on the task at hand.

Below are twenty-one effective ways to organise your thoughts when you are feeling overwhelmed in your life.

These simple yet effective tips are easy to establish and can bring amazing results.

You can begin to put them into place immediately, and over a short time, they can become part of your normal day-to-day routine.

21 Effective Ways

1. Write everything down in a list

One of the quickest and easiest ways to immediately de-clutter your mind is to write everything you are thinking about down on paper. Start making lists of the tasks and the endless things you are thinking about. This will work in a few ways;

• It will bring clarity

• Creates order

• Creates space in your mind

• Helps you to understand important thoughts from unimportant thoughts

• Helps you to stop worrying

2. Use the technique of mind mapping to organise your thoughts

Mind maps work in a similar way to writing lists but some people find them easier to do and more enjoyable.

The beauty of a mind map is everything is laid out in a very simple, yet effective way for you to evaluate. You can use different coloured pens to help to organise your ideas.

For anyone who works better with visual prompts, a mind map could be perfect for you.

3. Write your thoughts down in a journal

As well as list making and mind maps, another way to remove thoughts from your head and get them down on paper is to journal. Journaling is a highly effective tool to remove all of the clutter in your mind and make some order and sense from it.

The beauty of journaling is you also have the space to delve into your feelings and how thoughts are affecting you emotionally. This is a highly effective tool in combating stress and overwhelm in your life.

4. Search for the deeper meanings behind the thoughts you express

Why are you feeling overwhelmed? Why are you angry or confused? Understanding the thoughts you are having and the effect they are having on your emotions can help you to work through the confusion of thoughts in your mind.

You may be feeling overwhelmed because you have too much to do at home. These thoughts could be masking deeper thoughts of resentment that you aren’t getting any help which is leading to a build-up of stress.

Begin to dig a little deeper into the meanings behind your thoughts to bring about change.

5. Take solace in nature to work through your thoughts

Most people will find being in nature to be a very cathartic and therapeutic experience.

There is something about being amongst nature that brings on a soothing, calming demeanour even to the most stressed-out person.

If you are having trouble with overwhelming thoughts get outside and take some time to reflect on everything you are going through, the thoughts you are having and the way they are making you feel.

6. Identify how your feelings relate to your thoughts

Your feelings will always relate to what you are thinking. If you are having happy, positive thoughts, you will no doubt be feeling uplifted, happy and relaxed. Where as if you are having negative, dark thoughts you will no doubt be feeling stressed or depressed.

When you tune into your emotions and identify how you are feeling, you can then trace them back to your thoughts. If you are feeling unhappy then you will know you need to change the thoughts you are having.

7. Use a vision board to express your goals and desires

A lot of the time, many of the thoughts that can overwhelm you are concerned with plans and goals you have or would like to reach.

Using a vision board can help you to prioritise and organise what you want and how to achieve it. A vision board can be a fun, energising and stimulating way to get thoughts from your head and out into the open.

As new thoughts come into your mind you can put them onto your vision board and watch it grow.

This effective tool can grow and grow and as you reach one goal you can add others on. It will give you an immense sense of satisfaction when goals and desires are realised, helping your mental well-being.

8. Practise decluttering your mind

Your mind can start to look like an over-stuffed sock draw if you don’t take time to declutter.

Start putting some de-cluttering routines into your life to improve the quality of your mental well-being. As well as journaling and writing lists, there are other tools you can use. Meditation and mindfulness can help you to de-clutter your mind. Talking through issues with people you trust and switching off from social media can all help.

9. Use a relaxation method like yoga to get you in the correct frame of mind

Feelings of being overwhelmed can be triggered by many things in your life. Whatever the trigger the use of practices such as yoga can be very beneficial to how you are feeling. Yoga centres the mind and the body. Physical exercise is an excellent tool for removing and concentrating on your thoughts and can put you into a more calm and relaxed place. Yoga also focuses on the breath which also helps to combat feelings of overwhelm.

10. Discuss your thoughts with your close friends and family

“A problem shared is a problem halved.” Another saying most people will be aware of that rings very true.

When you are suffering from feelings of being overwhelmed, talking it over with close friends and family can really help the situation.

They can give you support and advice, be a listening ear or just be around to give you a hug.

Even if they are uneasy about offering you advice or don’t have the answers, just getting the words out and having loving support can add light to the situation.

11. Prioritise to discover what’s important in your life

Do you understand what is urgent and what is important in your life? Do you prioritise the wrong areas? This could be what is leading you to feel overwhelmed.

Start prioritising what is important and urgent in your life to beat stress. Anything urgent needs to be done straight away, while something important, although needing to be done, can be put off until you have the time to do it.

12. Use the for and against method to come to important decisions

If you are trying to weigh an important decision in your head, you will probably start to create feelings of overwhelmed because you are getting confused, distracted or unsure about what to do. Try using the simple trick of the for and against method to cut through the confusion.

Get a piece of paper at the top right for and against in separate columns and then underneath each heading write down your thoughts on the matter.

This simple trick should help you to clarify matters and aid in your decision-making process.

13. Focus on eliminating distractions from your life

You are feeling overwhelmed, and anxious as if you have too much going on in your life so what do you do? For many women, the answer is to just jump on social media for a bit and escape. Now this can be fine as a very quick distraction or to catch up with friends but do you really know how much time you are spending on it?

These sorts of distractions can actually end up adding to the pressure in your life and can give you even more things to think about often in a negative way.

Much of the content on social media can actually make you feel depressed like you aren’t achieving enough or your life isn’t good enough. This all adds to the pressure you can feel.

Make a conscious effort to eliminate these distractions from your life and you will notice a real difference in your thinking and the way you feel.

14. Use to-do lists to organise your day-to-day activities

Daily living can be one of the greatest triggers of overwhelm. If you are constantly counting off activities and things to do in your head then start to write lists each morning of the tasks to be completed each day and when you have completed them cross them off.

This will not only help to keep you organised and will avoid anything important being missed but will also give you a sense of achievement each time you cross something off the list.

15. Use the brainstorming method to create new solutions to problems

Brainstorming isn’t just a concept used in an office environment, you can brainstorm any situation where you need to create solutions to problems.

Instead of having everything packed into your head, get everything out and on paper and start brainstorming to generate solutions.

16. Reframe negative thoughts

Negative thinking is never going to produce anything but negative results. If you are someone whose default setting is to think negatively, this is a habit you need to try and lose.

If you are thinking negatively, try to reframe your thoughts into positive ones. If the leap is too great at one go try moving in smaller stages. Instead of saying “ I can’t” say “I’ ’ll try.”

17. Don’t focus on the things you can’t control

You need to accept there are always going to be some circumstances in life you will have no control over. Therefore if you have no control over a situation, there is no point in worrying about it or letting it get on top of you.

Focus your energy on situations you do have control over.

18. Practise the “eat that frog method” with regard to daily tasks

The “eat that frog method” by Brian Tracy, is a simple trick to get order into your day and to help you from feeling too overwhelmed when you have a lot of tasks to complete.

The idea is you do the most difficult and unpleasant task first. This will mean the rest of your day won’t be spent worrying about something you don’t want to do.

19. Focus on having positive self-talk

Have you ever listened to how you talk to yourself? If you are someone who has a negative internal dialogue you need to think about the words you use. Would you speak to another person the way you speak to yourself at times? I’m guessing the answer would be no!

Make a real effort to speak positively to yourself, applaud everything you do and highlight your many good points. In essence, be your own biggest supporter.

20. Live mindfully by focusing on the present moment

Many of the feelings of overwhelm you experience can be because you are projecting too much into the future and imagining all sorts of scenarios that haven’t even happened. If you practice living mindfully, you will focus only on the present moment. This will help you to concentrate your thoughts on what is happening in one moment of your life and will help you to feel less anxious and overwhelmed.

Try to make mindfulness a daily practice in your life and you will see amazing results.

21. Don’t overthink by keeping it simple

Life can be either very simple or very complicated depending on how you approach it. Keep your thinking simple.

Don’t look for obstacles, don’t live outside your means, don’t try to keep up with everyone else and don’t feel for one moment others have the right to judge your life or how you live.

If you keep your thinking and living simple your life will be far less complicated, you will be much happier and the feelings of being overwhelmed will disappear.

Final Thoughts

There are always going to be times in life when you will feel overwhelmed, this is a fact of life. You can make real changes in your feelings by focusing on your thoughts and putting better practices into your life.

Training your brain to work as your partner as opposed to against you will help you to organise your thoughts and will help to prevent feelings of being overwhelmed from taking over.

Following the above tips is a great place to start. If you are having real difficulties changing your thoughts, speaking to a trained professional can be very beneficial.

Coaching can aid you with the tools and support to help you organise your thinking. If you would like to discover how coaching can help you click on the link below;

change your thinking programme

If you would like to listen to the audio version of the blog post click below;

If you have enjoyed this blog post or have any thoughts on the subject comment and share below