How To Become Productive When You’re Overwhelmed
How to become productive when you are overwhelmed? People often feel overwhelmed. What is your opinion? Did you experience this feeling? I felt overwhelmed many times in my life. At present, I am working for a company. My association with my present employer has gone past one year. The overwhelming feeling is not an issue for me now. However, I had been experiencing this feeling of being overwhelmed when I was a student, especially during my university days. Today, I know when and how to turn productive and make life more meaningful.
Know what happened three years back
My specialization is in Chemical Engineering. I am a degree holder in this subject. This incident occurred when I was a junior. To be precise, it took place three years back. As a part of my study, I had to take a Biochemistry class. There is nothing special in learning in Biochemistry as many students are studying this subject. On a particular day, I had to prepare for an exam. I was also supposed submit a report as a part of study at the chemistry lab. As a student, a 4-page long homework has to be submitted for one of my Chemical Engineering classes as well.
My preparation for the exam was not up to the mark. The examination was going to be on the very next day. First of all, I was focusing on my incomplete assignments. I was trying hard to complete them. It was around 7:00 in the evening. As I mentioned, the exam was scheduled to be held on the next day at 9:00 am.
As a part of her financial management studies, my sister had to complete a big project before the midnight. Since the project was a large one with a lot of complexities involved and also the deadline was midnight, she was very tense. I had to assist her because she got into a really frustrating situation. As I kept on helping her, I lost my time to study for my exam. It was literally a tiring and a very demanding day for me.
Do you want to know what happened? I managed to do all these things efficiently on that day and next morning. After assisting my sister, I found 6 hours to study for my exam. Staying productive with everything, I tackled the challenges thrown at me. Do you want to know the outcome? I secured 84% on the exam and my sister managed to score 88% for her project. So, the outcome was really positive and encouraging.
How could I stay productive when things got complex?
This is when you need to know how to stay productive when you are completely overwhelmed. I will tell you know how. After finishing my assignments at 7:00 pm, I extended my helping hand toward my sister. I kept on supporting her until 9:30 pm to finish her project. Then, I spent two hours for my studies starting from 10:00 pm. At 12:00 am, I went to bed because maintaining good energy was very important on the exam day. Got up with full of energy at 5:00 am and started studying for four more hours. In total, I studied 6 hours to write the exam confidently. What is the message? All I want to say is that staying productive is all about your MINDSET.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed? The answer could be yes or no. I personally have experienced this a lot. Currently, I am an employee who has been working for more than a year. Feeling overwhelmed is one of the things that I have experienced when I was in university, but now I know how and when to become a productive person.
Three Years ago…
My major is Chemical Engineering. Back when I was in my junior year, which was 3 years ago from the date of writing this, I had a class called Biochemistry. I know it sounds normal and nothing weird in that. There is one day where I had to study for an exam, complete a report for one of my chemistry labs, and complete 4 pages long homework for one of my Chemical Engineering classes.
I didn’t study at all and the exam is in the next day. My goal was to finish my assignments first. It became 7:00 pm and the exam was in the next day at 9:00 am. My sister felt stuck in a big project that she was doing for her class. She was studying Finance. I had to help her because she was so nervous and didn’t what to do while the project should be submitted on the same day before midnight. It was literally one of the most exhausting days ever because I couldn’t study since I had to help her.
Guess what … I was able to manage all these things by being productive with everything. I managed to study 6 hours for the exam and I got in my exam 84%, my sister got in her project 88% and everything ended up in a great way.
How did I become productive during that day?
I finished my assignments at 7:00 pm and helped my sister to complete her project until 9:30 pm. I was able to study from 10:00 pm to 12:00 am. Then I had to sleep because energy is important to do well. Gladly, I woke up at 5:00 am and studied till 9:00 am, so this is a total of 6 hours. My main message of productivity here is MINDSET.
How to become productive when you’re overwhelmed?
There are 4 main things that you need to do that will help you to become a very productive person even when you are overwhelmed. These tips will help you to accomplish everything and anything under pressure and you will be able to handle everything on time.
1- Plan your day
Yes, this isn’t something new and you will notice everybody is saying the same thing too. However, I will tell you how I normally plan my day. As soon as you wake up, have a list of priorities that you have to do in the CURRENT day. Don’t think about tomorrow or the day after that because you will feel stressed.
Have a plan that is not more than 5 things a day. This is because you want to make sure to finish everything listed in your planner and not to keep or delay things to do them the next day.
One most important thing is to have a 6th bullet point for something that comes out during the day. Let’s say your list is as the following:
- Go to work and finish my important tasks (Go to school and attend my classes)
- Cook food for my family
- Publish a new blog or a new YouTube video (Write, edit and publish)
- Sit down with my family for at least 1-2 hour(s)
- Read a book or learn a new thing during the day
- Additional important thing
As shown above a very general list, you can have the 6th point for important things. This is what got me to overcome my stress when I had to help my sister with the project she had. That thing really came out of nowhere, as I have been informed on the same day in the evening. If I didn’t put in my mind that additional important thing I would have to do during the day, I would be totally burned out. You can find your own way on how to plan your day.
2- Always calm down and focus
Whenever you feel you are overwhelmed, you will never achieve. Believe me, you just won’t! Having that thinking in your mind will bring that negativity into your brain and you will not be able to do anything. Think positively, and put in your mind that everything will end and no matter how big is the load on you, it will never last. Eventually, it will come the moment that you will feel free and not overwhelmed.
Therefore, you need to focus on the moment and keep calm because I can guarantee you by then you will finish many things right before time. This accomplishment will be done quickly and you will never feel how the time passed. Always calm down and focus because these will make you productive, I promise!
3- Complete the easiest things first
If you remember, I mentioned earlier that I completed my assignments first and then got to work on the project that is for my sister. This is because assignments are normally easy to finish, then moving to the project because it is should be done earlier. Then I decided to keep the study until the end since it required more time and focus. Therefore, completing easy things first is still accomplishments and this will reduce the stress you have.
Focusing on the easiest things first will not just make you less stressed, but will give you the power to complete more things on your list. Whenever you complete something, make sure to mark it as done in your planner, either physical or digital planner, this will give you the feeling of satisfaction.
4- Set duration time for each task
You don’t have to write the time on your task list, but you could if you want to. However, be sure to set duration time for each task. Let’s say you are going to go for an exercise today, then put in your mind how long will that take. As I listed above, I have specified time because this is what I did. I always keep in my mind the time. You can use a timer for this if you want. However, it all depends on the task.
Personally I have the most difficult tasks set for a maximum of 2 hours just to see how the progress will go. The shorter the time, the more you can achieve. I can assure you that because you feel that you have to really focus during this time duration, so you will not have the chance to waste time. Setting the duration time is the key to being productive.
To keep the long story short, put in your mind that everybody has been through an overwhelmed life. However, they have by somehow overcame it. Therefore, life can sometimes be tough and overwhelmed, but we can control things by prioritizing and making things simpler. Most importantly is to always calm down and focus. A positive mindset is crucial!
