I think the underlying feeling I have had over the past year has been overwhelmed. I have been overwhelmed with guilt, exhaustion, grief, tiredness, sadness. As a result, I have all but shut down.
As I started to dig my way out from all the negative and refocus, something new would bring me back down.
Moving onto my blank slate of 2021, I have a few tools I will use to get past this. Because, to be honest, most of what happened in the past year is still happening now.
So here is my plan to get back to feeling more like me:
Small actions every day.
I read and am currently rereading James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. In it, he talks about getting only 1% better at a time. But also how these small increments in getting better have a profound effect on overall improvement. He states a 1% improvement done daily will have over a 37% improvement over a year. And that same decrease would bring you almost back to zero over a year.
So I am aiming small. Heading for a little improvement, like hitting my spice cabinet yesterday. Which made a slight improvement but also helped me when I was making dinner. I didn’t need to pull out the whole cabinet to get to what I wanted. I also discovered I had 3 of some things! So, I kept repurchasing items because I didn’t know I already owned them.
A habit of daily creation
Seems strange, but for someone who thinks and feels best after creating, this should be a priority. So, creating the first thing in the morning is now a priority. Chase Jarvis is always stating, create before consume. Making before I get pulled into social media, email, and my daily to-do list.
Daily priority list
Speaking of a to-do list, this will be written the evening before. I seem to see most clearly what I really needed to accomplish at night when I feel like I didn’t get anything done.
I work best when I have a task list of things to do, so I commit to writing it out each day.
Just three things to start moving, because what I discovered was when I was feeling overwhelmed, I stopped moving. I stopped progressing. Goes back to Einstein’s theory – an object in motion will stay in motion. But one that has stopped moving needs something to set it in motion again.
I am working on creating parameters, so I stay in motion. Hoping it will keep the overwhelm at bay this year.
Three things to keep the overwhelm at bay. That is the plan I am working with, I will let you know how it goes.
Blessings –
Catherine