Video transcript: How to take control when you're overwhelmed

[Audio / Visual: As the screen opens, quiet music plays in the background. The music plays throughout the video. The screen opens displaying the title “Prioritising under pressure”. Beneath the title is sub-title text: a by-line “Good business looking after you” and the Spark BusinessLab and business.govt.nz logos.]

[Visual: Screen changes to show the presenter in the centre of screen. On the bottom left of the screen, in white text on a blue background, is the speaker’s name: Jonathan Black. On the bottom right of the screen in white text is the by-line “Good business looking after you”, the Spark BusinessLab logo and business.govt.nz logo. The by-line and logos remain in place for the entire video.]

[Audio: The presenter, Jonathan Black, begins to speak.]

Prioritising puts you in control of what you’re doing. We explored what prioritisation means in our previous video, “How prioritising helps you succeed” You may want to prioritise but find you’re too busy or overwhelmed. Maybe you’re caught up in reacting to things. Reacting can be a habit. Often when you look back on your week, you can find small bits of time that you could have used smarter.

In this video, we’ll discuss two topics: what reacting is, and what you can do instead, and how to prioritise when you’re busy or overwhelmed.

Reacting is doing things just because they come up. That could be something that someone puts in front of you. It could be something that pops into your mind. Or it could be something that someone just rang you about.

But do you actually need to act straight away? Are you doing it because you’re afraid you’ll forget something? If so, write that thing down and do the task when the time suits you better.

If you’re dropping everything to get something done for a client or colleague, make sure you’ve understood their expectations correctly. Consider asking if they really need it from you right now. They might not realise that the deadline will put be hard for you. People often underestimate how long things take.

Reacting means not doing something that might be more important or urgent. Maybe you need to give yourself permission to say “no”. Especially if saying “yes” means you don’t finish an urgent and critical task, or you miss out on things you want to do, like spending time with your family.

Do things deliberately and with reason instead of simply reacting. To break the habit of reacting, you need to prioritise.

Learn your signs of strain so you don’t get overwhelmed in the first place. Are you getting snappy? Drinking too much coffee? Avoiding people? Everyone is different. Act when you notice your signs, and do it sooner rather than later.

But what if you’re already too busy or overwhelmed? How do you prioritise? Here are seven tips. Use one or more of them, whichever works for you.

[Visual: on-screen graphic with text “change the environment” is displayed momentarily]

Tip number one: change your environment. What about working in a café for a few hours, the library, or a different room? A different environment can help you see things in a different way.

[Visual: on-screen graphic with text “Cut the list” is displayed momentarily]

Tip number two: cut your to-do list in half. Be ruthless. Prioritisation is about manageable chunks. If your list is too long, you’re unlikely to get everything done, or done well. If something in the bottom half needs to be done, swap that task with something in the top half. Give yourself permission to temporarily forget about anything you can’t do today.

[Visual: on-screen graphic with text “Check your goals” is displayed momentarily]

Tip number three: ask yourself quick questions before you start your day. For example, you could ask, “What do I want to achieve today?” Then focus on the things, or the one thing, that help you achieve your goal as you go about your day.

[Visual: on-screen graphic with text “Do something different” is displayed momentarily]

Tip number four: try something different and see what happens. Test your assumptions. Can you shorten or simplify your marketing post? Can that one-hour meeting actually be an email?

[Visual: on-screen graphic with text “Delay. Delegate. Outsource” is displayed momentarily]

Tip number five: delay, delegate or outsource. If you work alone and don’t have anyone to delegate to, delay the task or outsource it. Outsourcing is a way of delegating. For example, if you can’t afford to pay someone, can you get a family member to help, even if it’s just with a few small tasks?

[Visual: on-screen graphic with text “Talk to someone” is displayed momentarily]

Tip number six: contact someone. Talk to them about how you are, share your workspace or bounce ideas off them. Talking may not immediately get tasks done, but it can put you in a different frame of mind, and help you find solutions and make decisions.

[Visual: on-screen graphic with text “Take a break” is displayed momentarily]

Tip number seven: take meaningful and regular breaks. Breaks are your way of investing in your business and yourself, so that you can continue to think and work well.

Taking breaks is really good, but you need to finish your break feeling good and relaxed, or at least, better than when you started. The secret is doing things that you enjoy and that give you energy. Like going for a walk instead of sitting in your office and being on your phone. It’s important that you do things that make you feel good, relaxing with purpose and focus.

Breaks are about catching your breath. Regular breaks and days off are very important. If you can, take the occasional afternoon off for something that you  enjoy.

To summarise, don’t just react to what’s in front of you. When you’re really busy or overwhelmed, try to change your environment, what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, or how you take breaks. Download our tips on this page on how to prioritise when you’re busy or overwhelmed.

If you’d like to know how to get started with prioritising, or how to figure out what to do first, watch our video, “How to balance work and life”.

[Visual: Display changes to closing screen, displaying the Spark BusinessLab logo and business.govt.nz logo on the bottom right.]

[Video ends.]