Overwhelmed… I am… I was…

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O is for Overwhelmed. I felt it today! I tried to fight it and sort of lost and than regained my lost ground by prioritizing. That is my biggest weapon against feeling overwhelmed. Reprioritize. My other weapon is to grab the phone and call up my buddy! (@SuzyQOle! Help!) Beyond that I was a bit lost. My kids could see that I was struggling though and recommended I check out a few sessions at a homeschool conference I was attending. (They really did it in a nice way! I was touched that they were trying to help!) One of the sessions I attended was by Michelle from the Above Rubies ministry team. I didn’t know much about Above Rubies or Michelle but her topic was 10 Exits off of Overwhelmed Highway. One exit would be good for me, but 10? I’m on board.

When I entered the class I took my usual seat in the back. The classroom filled up quickly. The session didn’t start out all that awe-striking. I did not get a bunch of Ah HA moments throughout either. I was kind of let down. I did (almost unknowingly) take notes and brought those home. Maybe because the whole thing was my last session and I was just in shock mode over all that I learned? I don’t know. At any rate, I didn’t think it all made that much of a difference.

This week and half since than I have realized that I did learn more in that session than originally thought! Little statements and phrases Michelle said have stuck with me and I have applied them. Today, not so well. But here are a few that REALLY stuck with me and have helped in some instances:

- Who told you to do all of that?
I am already big at re-prioritizing my schedule often when I get flustered but this statement has really caused me to rethink whatever I start to get upset about in a big way. Who told me that I had to get the kitchen cleaned, dishes done, living room swept, dining room mopped, all of the bathrooms cleaned and full day of homeschooling in at the same time? Yah… me… and why would I think I could manage all that? Silly me… What REALLY needs done? Do that…

- Work on ONE thing that is bothering you
And get it done… just having this one thing will make your day seem better. My mom has always told me, “just go clean your kitchen sink. Right now. You will feel better with a clean kitchen sink.” Sounds silly doesn’t it? But it works! Just cleaning my kitchen sink sometimes makes the rest of what I need to get done fall into place.

- Stop, Drop and Roll
I loved this analogy!
Stop what you are doing
Drop the useless attitude
Roll onto the next project!

She even recommended that I should change the focus of my day to someone, anyone and do something nice for them. So instead of getting worked up about so many little things I should plan something nice for someone else. Of course that does help put me in a better mood! It sure is hard to do sometimes…
- If there is too much going on, focus on one thing.
 
This ties into the focusing on someone else a bit too. Really focusing on just getting dinner done instead of the million other little things might be all I can get done in a day sometimes. I should focus on that because it brings the family together though. It does help!

So what do you do when you get freaked out, overwhelmed? I still have a long way to go with this. Today was a good example to me of what not to do. The past few hours have soothed me back into reality and I have a list ready for the whole week to get me through the craziness. I know a list! So stagnant and rigid. I need this right now though. That way I don’t try and focus on something that will get me no where and I end up frazzled again. Here’s hoping it works!

(Totally funny! The song “Don’t Worry Be Happy” is playing as I finish up this post too. Ha! Perfect timing!)

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