Select Page

 

Today, I want to write a shorter post. They have been long lately. This one is just for more practical help. If you are like me, the simple, everyday details of living can get overwhelming. So I’ll share this with you as a reminder…for you and me! I have needed it lately. I was getting behind and it was taking a toll for sure!

 

How does overwhelmed affect you? Do you get behind in things around your house?

 

Today (Saturday) I got a late start, but still managed to get some housework done and catch up on quite a few things where I had gotten behind. It feels good to see things picked up and vacuumed, clothes washed and ironing caught up too! Once I got going, the work went fairly quickly. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Are you feeling overwhelmed because of lots of things that need to be done? Loose ends, details, unfinished business?

 

  • Choose an area in your home that is a constant irritant. Take 30 minutes and work on it. Even it you don’t completely finish it, you will feel so much better that you made progress on that irritating spot. You put away some things, threw away others and maybe some went into a give away box, Now it looks neat. You may even have space to put some fresh flowers in that corner!
  • There are lots of jobs that are 5-30 minute jobs. If you are like me, you keep putting them off and they keep nagging at you. Make a list of them or break your huge jobs into smaller jobs.
  • Then start working on them. Start with the 5 minute jobs. You will finish a whole bunch of them in no time flat and will feel like you accomplished an amazing amount of work. It feels good to cross those things off your list.
  • Then start hitting those larger jobs. They often take less time to do once you attack them. If you play an audio book or music in the background while doing them, they go even faster!
  • Keep your running list...especially if you have been feeling overwhelmed. You will be amazed how your load will be lifting once you start doing a few of these jobs a day. It may not show right away, but before long, it will show that you have been plugging away at your work and your space looks and feels much better! Another option is to ask a couple of friends to come help you…if they are jobs people can help you with.
  • If some of the jobs are too much for you, lump them together and see if you can hire someone to do them or if money is tight, maybe you can work a trade with someone for skills you have that they need. Ask around at your church. You may find people who are willing to help you out if you provide the material.
  • Often, it is recommend that you put similar jobs together and do them in blocks such as billing jobs and calls on a certain day, cleaning jobs on a certain day, planning jobs on a certain day, etc. It’s worth a try if you have trouble getting those jobs done or if you have trouble maintaining your focus. You don’t have to dread the your least favorite kinds of jobs every day. You know that the day for the job you don’t like is on Tuesday and you don’t have to think about it on other days! The opposite is true. For jobs you love, do them on days you are more tired or gloomy so you will feel like you are doing something fun!

 

Along those lines, if you are feeling overwhelmed right now, pray and ask GOD to help you and provide what you need.

 

Sometimes, when we are overwhelmed, we can’t see solutions. Ask GOD to send help in a form that you need, in ways that you need. He will. But it may not be in the ways you expect. Of course, you realize this is the most important step of all these steps given! 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,
will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

I Peter 5:6-10 ESV