Feeling Overwhelmed, Hard to Focus?

Have you ever felt that you have so many things that you love doing (note: this is not the humdrum list of plain daily to-do's but things that you are somewhat passionate about) that you simply do not know where to start? Or perhaps, you have started on every single one of them, at varying degrees, yet never truly committed to bringing them to completion? I hear you and I can totally relate. We are on the same boat!

Ever since the global COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, we are all spending time at home a lot. For me, it has been a period of blessing in disguise - although I certainly do not dismiss the sufferings that many have had or may still have to go through. I just meant the won back available time from traveling (primarily for work) alone is rewarding beyond words. That has given me plenty of opportunities to be creative and involve in things that I would not normally have time for.

However, if you are like me, all gung-ho about mastery within the shortest period of time (which well, can be rather unrealistic, I know), my list simply just grows longer each week and before I know it, uh-oh, how am I ever going to find time finishing all these? To cite an example, I might be attending a live seminar on personal development, and someone on the chat recommends a relevant good read. I will check out the book on channels like Amazon or bol.com (for NL) and purchase it right away once I am convinced by the review ratings. Say the live seminar may lead to another hard-to-miss follow-up offer, I would be happy to invest on it with the belief that the advantages weigh over the costs. As I check the confirmed order, I would have come across another subscription email highlighting the upcoming week-long free webinars (that I find interesting not to miss of course) and there you go. One thing leads to another and now, I have to make time to build a repository of everything that I have signed up for (yes I admittedly lost count!), without the intention to drop any.

My initial attempt has been simply scribbling these on a piece of paper (brain/memory-dump, basically) or in a note book. Outcome looks absolutely messy, definitely not helping - but at least, there is a page somewhere that reminds me of how I have invested my money and perhaps a great reminder for me to make them all worthwhile (by completing all)! That got me thinking and I started to put together a strategy, not only to keep track of them, but one that will get my commitment to start crossing out one by one. Here are some considerations:

1. (Recall and) Make the complete list

If you happen to have lost or start losing track of what you have invested on (usually online courses) or signed up for (sometimes for free e-books or webinar replays), start making the list and continue to maintain it over time. It will provide you an overview with clarity that might just surprise you. In an extreme case, it might be jaw-dropping for you after realizing how many you actually have on your list, or, you could possibly be gripped by a slight frustration pondering where this is all heading (and you mean progress!). Once you have this list, suggest not to shove it aside unseen again, but to pin or file it somewhere that you will conveniently able to keep revisiting and hopefully check them all off at some point. First step, easy peasy.

2. Write down the WHY and investment value for each

This is a crucial step that plays the central role in influencing the subsequent steps below. The major reason why your list is growing yet not much progress is made, is due to lack of motivation or it has faded away over time. Here is where you will need to think deep and dial in your larger purpose of signing up or purchase in the first place. Sometimes, attaching the investment cost, when applicable, will carry some weight in facilitating this process for you. Let's get real, you would not be spending hundreds or thousands of dollars before doing proper research if it is worth the investment to begin with and how you foresee to benefit from it. On the other hand, the investment value in time required is just as important a factor. You might be able to first attend to three items on your list that will take up an hour to two each than attempting one other which will take you up to three months.

3. Prioritize and match each against near-term goal(s)

In order to start flagging items as 'Completed', you might want to also consider how by doing any one or more or those can bring you closer to your goals in the next weeks or months. Which goal(s) do you want to reach the most to make a difference in your life? If you spend some time on this step, your list will transform into a beautiful (and executable) plan for your personal growth and development! This is what I have learned from Tony Robbins, that people often underestimate what they can achieve within 5 years yet overestimate what they can accomplish in a year's time. The objective of this step is essentially to organize your list into a game-changer plan. Look, it does not have to be perfect before you start taking actions. Just start. Be comfortable in taking imperfect actions! If you put in the work here, you should pat yourself on the back as you are another step closer to witnessing positive life changes unfolding before you.

4. Be obsessed in taking massive actions and Commit, Commit, Commit!

Nothing will change unless you commit to taking MASSIVE actions - no dabbling! Keep your eyes on the prize (not the desired outcome but your WHY) and be so devoted in making even the smallest progress possible everyday. It is the progress that matters so nurturing the culture of progress in yourself is absolute key. We live in a world full of distractions today; more so driven by the advancement of technology and we can almost anticipate procrastination in our endeavors. I really love this teaching from Tony Robbins (I can't help it!): When you talk about things, it is only a dream. When you envision it, it is exciting. When you plan it, it is possible. But when you schedule it, it is real. Ohh...read that again if you need to and let that sink in. Our mind in its primitive nature has the tendency to talk us out of our best intention to make changes, any changes. Why? Change is uncomfortable and anything uncomfortable is hence a threat to the survival brain. Therefore, the more we can stay alert and catch ourselves doing reasoning in our heads why we can always start or continue tomorrow or we should back out entirely, yet intentionally rebellious to push ourselves without any negotiations to doing the hard work - be prepared for delicious results, the real miracles.

5. Celebrate every milestone

OMG, this is so simple yet don't we all always let this slip off our practice? This is the juice! Without doubt that the effort to pushing our edge is going to carry in itself the ebbs and flows, the ups and downs. There will be times when you feel discouraged, confused and be enticed by your monkey mind rendering you to start questioning yourself: What the heck am I doing? When you break the task down to smaller, achievable chunks and work towards them - never forget to celebrate your progress and reward yourself! Experience and recognize the difference it will bring. Give yourself a big high five, another pat on the back, or jump, dance in joy! Be purposeful with this milestone celebration (which means to use it as the fuel towards your higher goal), get back on track and continue to propel forward.

I hope this insight will be helpful to someone out there who is in the state of overwhelm and struggling with focus. What additional ways in your experience that have helped you tremendously to stop overwhelm and sharpen your focus to get things done? Please share them in the comments below, I would love to learn from you!