Simplifying the Overwhelming

This past year has been tough here at Pumpjack & Piddlewick. As I am sure it has been for many of you. It has been easy to be overwhelmed. Surprisingly, at least to me, ‘simplifying the overwhelming’ has really helped.

Now what the heck does that mean? Well, for those of you who follow my posts here on P&P you know I like slow living and a simple life. And it is this latter that has truly been helpful.

Keep it simple

Simple living is just that. It can take on many forms. Maybe it means minimalism, or simply less stuff in your life. It could be making work and life balance a bit better. Even simplifying foods down to basic (simple) ingredients. Or all of the above. And more. (Since we are talking simple, we’ll leave “and more” to your preferences.)

For me, “simplify the overwhelming” is something I really discovered through necessity. When there are too many things happening at once, too many decisions to make, too many things that need attention, my natural inclination is to think about all of them. And that, of course, is when everything starts to feel overwhelming.

So I began doing something very simple. I stopped looking at everything. Instead, I started focusing on the now. Right now.

Stay in the now

There is something surprisingly calming about only dealing with what is actually happening right now. Not tomorrow, or next week. Not all the things that might happen. Just now.

I have found that a great deal of my sense of overwhelm comes from trying to live in the future. Worrying about what needs to be done, what might go wrong, what I will need to deal with later, what I haven’t accomplished yet. My mind can happily run ahead of me and create an entire mountain of problems that I don’t actually have to deal with at this moment. Or may in fact, never happen.

When my mind goes that way, I take a moment and tell myself the future will happen when I get there. And when I get there, I will deal with it then. It’s a really simple thing to do. And, surprisingly, it really works.

That doesn’t mean I don’t plan. Of course I do. There are projects that need consideration, appointments that need remembering, things that need to be organized. Simplifying doesn’t mean ignoring the future. It means not living there. There is a difference. I can know that something is coming without spending today worrying about it. That distinction has been a surprisingly useful one for me.

One thing at a time

For me, the art of staying in the now ultimately means asking a very simple question, “What can I do in this moment?” And then doing that one thing. Not five things. Or starting one thing while thinking about three others. (Well, at least I try.) It’s creating a To Do List with only one thing on it at a time. Yes, you read right. A To Do List of one thing. That is truly the simplifying part.

The funny thing is, when I am feeling truly overwhelmed, it becomes much easier to focus on the simple. Sometimes it is a mundane task, like washing dishes. Sometimes it is answering one email. Sometimes it is putting something away. Other times it is one small piece of a much larger project. There is something restful about giving the brain such a small assignment. There is no mountain to climb. It is just the next step. And once that step is done, I can choose another.

No mountain-sized list

As I said, I’ve learned to change the way I think about To-Do lists. I have never found a long list particularly motivating. In fact, when I am already overwhelmed, looking at a list containing fifteen or twenty things that need doing can have precisely the opposite effect. Instead of helping me organize my thoughts, it makes the mountain look even higher. And I shut down, ignoring everything on my list. Well, that is useful. Not.

So I don’t make long daily lists anymore. I can have a list of overall projects. I can have notes about things that need to happen some day. Gentle reminders tucked away somewhere I can come across later on. It keeps track of the bigger picture. But for the day itself? One thing. Maybe two if the day calls for it and there is no sense of overwhelm. But certainly not a list that makes me wonder how on earth I am going to accomplish all of it.

So, I pick one thing in my mind. It might be something I need to do. Or it might be something I want to do. Sometimes it is important. Sometimes it is wonderfully mundane. Other times it is just because it’s something fun. Call me crazy, but I like to mix things up a little now and then. Then, when it is finished, I choose the next thing. And slowly the sense of overwhelming disappears into the background.

Reduce the noise

Another part of simplifying the overwhelming for me has been reducing the noise around me. Overwhelm isn’t always about having too much to do. Sometimes it is simply having too many things clamouring for my attention. In our digital world there are notifications, emails, news, social media, messages, and all those little things that clamour for me to look at them.

When overwhelmed, I don’t need more information. I need less of it. So sometimes I put my phone down and leave it there. I head out for a little walk (yes, sans phone.) Or work in my restoration garden. There is always something to do there, but again, I pick one thing and take the time to enjoy it. (Again, sans phone.) I might simply sit with a cup of coffee without reaching for something to read or listen to. A moment of quiet time can make a surprising difference.

It’s on-going

And even when my life feels quieter, I continue to practice simplifying. It’s not something I need only when life becomes overwhelming. It has become something I want to keep doing when life is not overwhelming. Because it feels really good, peaceful.

Of course, there will still be projects and plans. There will still be unexpected things flying in from nowhere, because that is simply how life works.

I am not suddenly going to become someone who never has too much to do, or who doesn’t occasionally find herself staring at everything that needs doing and wondering where to begin.

But I am glad I have found something that helps me when that happens. For me, that has been the real value of simplifying the overwhelming. It hasn’t made life simpler in itself, and it certainly hasn’t stopped life from being unpredictable. It has simply made the things that feel difficult a little easier to live with. And that is something I would like to hold on to and continue practising, even when there is no particular reason to.