How I Got Unstuck

How

Today I feel like I am pulled in 50 different directions.

Immediately you understand this feeling, don’t you?   I feel anxious inside and out.  I feel the urgent need to do more than one thing at this time.  I feel slightly depressed because I know I cannot begin to do all that needs to be done.  I have all of these ideas and thoughts going through my mind.  Where do I start?  How do I start?  How did I get into this situation? How do I get out?  I am paralyzed.  I want to do nothing but sit and maybe contemplate or sleep or wish it away.  I do none of those things.

Help!

Well… the first thing I did was take a few deep breaths and say to me as I breathe in “calm” and as I breathe out “relax.”

As I did this I went to my special place in my mind that has a calming effect on me and stayed there for a few minutes.  When I came out of my relaxation I felt somewhat better or should I say better able to figure out how to tackle the monumental number of tasks I had to do.

After my relaxation I could see a bit clearer and I grabbed a tablet and began to write all of my thoughts on paper thinking just get those thoughts out of my head now.   As I do this I do feel even better.  My thoughts are sorted into tasks and I narrowed those tasks down even further into bite size manageable projects and gave those projects time limits and placed contacts and phone number I would need for assistance and collaboration.

If I needed a system to help me I would design something simple.  An example would be this:  When I get on the internet time flies by for me.  We know time goes like it always does therefore, my system is to use a timer and when my timer goes off I am off the internet and I move on to another project and task.  This is an easy and simple system to keep me on time for my projects.  You can design your own.  Keep it simple.

I began to place the items in order of importance. I organized and planned for 3 months and plan to do the next three months very soon.  It is quite a list.  I realized I could defer some items to the future and this was quite a relief for me.

As I worked on this list I began to feel so much better.  I feel empowered.  I thought this was strange because I had not performed any of the tasks that was consuming my mind and driving me insane.

After the list was made I began to chip away at it.  I paid my immediate bills first; I had put this off for a few days not knowing why I did until now.  I know this seems like a no brainer but you must understand I was paralyzed with so much on my plate to chaw away at as my grandpa John would say.

The second thing I did was hire a coach to assist me with my e-books.   I knew not to overload myself and only wrote as daily tasks what I knew for sure I could manage only pushing myself a little and doing more if possible.

When I got through this episode of desperation I wondered what other things I could have done to help get me moving.  This is what I came up with.

  1.  I could have taken a short walk.  The temperature was in the 50’s, ideal for walking and thinking.  Walking also helps to divert or distract my thinking.  There are times when  I get excellent solutions to challenges I am facing as well.

  2. Talk to a friend, I did this and it was helpful.

  3. I could read a chapter in a book as a diversion.

  4. I could go to a movie.

  5. I could write about my experience and this is what I did.  Journaling works as well.

We all have times when life piles up and then add more stuff and we need a way or a tool to sort things to be done out.  Use these techniques quickly to get moving again and get unstuck.  These are simple ideas and they work.

Honor yourself!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *