Getting overwhelmed by the amount of work you have on your plate as you attempt to balance your creativity, day job, family, social life and the business of taking your creative outlet more seriously is often par for the course. Even entrepreneurial types outside of the arts can experience intense feelings of being swamped and for arts-preneurs who are often highly sensitive the experience can be 10 fold. Having some go-to strategies in your back pocket can be a lifeline in those challenging periods. Here are 5 strategies to help clear the mind and lift the load when overwhelm is threatening.
1. Recognise when other areas of your life are taking over and back off.
School holidays seem to unravel so many of the creative mummas I see around me, myself included. It’s taken me a while to realize that having any urgent work scheduled for school holidays is a recipe for disaster. This is the same for religious and social holiday periods (think Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Passover). Major personal commitments from weddings and divorces to illnesses and family trips pack their own overwhelm punch too. Sometimes the work itself causes you to be inevitably stuck in the mundane, like tax time and administrative periods, which means working towards the big picture stuff can be off the cards at certain times. Sometimes the day job takes precedence, sometimes personal life and sometimes creativity, but planning around these rhythms can make all the difference at short circuiting overwhelm danger zones.
2. Manage your time.
Creatives generally hate the idea of time management yet know that burying their head in the sand on this front is a real weakness in their ability to kick their creative goals. Many artists I work with are compelled by stories of “working when inspiration strikes”, “not being good at that kind of thing” or the belief that “there’s not enough time.” There are so many strategies that are proven to help manage your time more effectively such as batch tasking, routines and location triggers. Working more efficiently means getting more done in less time with less energy which means way less overwhelm. (check out my free time tools download if this needs a helping hand)
3. Tune into the big picture and prioritise.
When you are about to drown in overwhelm then in the short term, only do what is absolutely urgent. Sometimes we convince ourselves that everything is urgent and had to be done yesterday. This is where crystal clear vision and mission are a must. When you check in with the big picture are there areas that are more pressing than others to work towards your end goal? Can you pull deadlines back on non-essential core activities? What would really happen if you gave yourself an extra day, week, month or year to achieve a certain task? Are there tasks that are draining your resources or contributing the least to the long term goal? Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks that will need to be done over the lifetime of our business.
4. Take a step back and take a break and re-energise.
Whether it’s a year long hit of the pause button, a month creative retreat in Bali (or a week- check out my Glow – Women’s Creativity Retreat!), a 2 day Netflix marathon, long bath with a book, a beach walk or a coffee with a friend, give yourself some time off. Sometimes we are running on empty and the only option is to go slow and give yourself some down time to recharge the batteries. Then when there is a bit more fuel in the tank you can ease back into momentum. It’s amazing to realize that most of the time the whole thing doesn’t collapse because you give yourself some time off. Usually, in my personal experience, I more than make up for lost time with the burst of energy and clarity that comes from having a full tank.
5. Take an inventory of your successes
Sometimes overwhelm comes from a misconception that you are getting nowhere and simply treading water inspite of all your efforts. You might be working hard going from goalpost to goalpost without acknowledging the small wins. By experiencing a sense of achievement aligned with your heartfelt vision you can create some juicy positive bio feedback, uplift, re-energise and reassure yourself that you are actually making headway. Give yourself a chance to see what you have achieved already, write a list of what you have done over the past week, month or year. I bet it’s more than you realise.
Recognising imminent overwhelm and checking in with some of these strategies may get you back on track and intercept burn out before it gets a chance to take over.
For the ultimate overwhelm remedy check out our custom retreats for some serious nurture and creativity.
If the business of your art has got you overwhelmed then check out the coaching options.
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