Is it just me or has the pandemic related lockdowns given us more items to add to our ever growing to-do list? Do you find yourself having to take care of more work and more personal action items? I’m sure everyone can relate. And if you’re a work-from-home parent, that to-do list may have grown into a massive one by now.
Lockdowns have limited our mobility and made it harder to accomplish tasks for both work and personal life. This means that we’d have to get creative and find new ways to accomplish tasks, or otherwise, learn to live without. Case in point, during the pre-pandemic days, most of us had systems and clear boundaries between home and work. We get to prepare our mindset during the drive or commute to work and decompress on our way back home. We get to slip in a grocery trip or a bank run after taking the kids to school. We get to declutter the house without kids running around. There are clear stops and starts to our day.
But now – oh now, it’s twice the fun. You get to do all that – corral kids, declutter, run errands, check bank statements while working from home. It’s no wonder a lot of us are feeling overloaded and overwhelmed. How can we get things under control? Here are some strategies:
1. Capture information
When you are confronted with information, distractions, work, and lots of other stuff, it’s easy to forget things. So capture information. Write them down in a notebook you keep specifically for reminders and then get them on your to-do list. If pen and paper aren’t readily available, leave important information on your phone by calling yourself and leaving a voicemail. You can always convert that to text using Google Keep or Evernote.
2. Get one thing done and dusted early in the day
Pick one thing off your to-do list, anything – and get it done early in the day. This will give you a sense of closure and accomplishment and hopefully have a snowball effect that will encourage you to keep going.
3. Put it in your calendar
Assigning a date and time to your tasks will increase the chances of getting it done by a whopping 70%. So put it in your diary or calendar and set a reminder.
4. Just do it
Nike was right. Half the battle is getting started, so start already. It doesn’t matter where you start as long as you do. Then, continue in some sort of logical order – left to right, top to bottom. Keep going till you finish.
5. Get help
Two is indeed better than one. So, if you’re struggling – get help. Another set of hands can really lighten the load, even if only to boost your morale up. Better if you can delegate tasks so you can accomplish twice the work.
What are your tried and tested tips to avoid overwhelm? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!
Written by Jaie O. TheHelp