There is a good possibility that I am writing this as much for my benefit as I am to help anyone else who might need it. It seems that I need a good solid reminder every now and again not to freak out and shut down when I become overwhelmed with a never ending task list.

This time of year gets a little crazy for everyone; it seems there are at least 6 events to attend each weekend. On top of all of that, my workload as a photographer increases 10 fold. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for the extra work and I love going balls to the wall all fall, say that 3 times fast. But inevitably by Thanksgiving I feel like I am drowning and I will never finish it all! Spoiler alert: I always finish it all and the freakout is usually always unfounded and completely unnecessary.

There are several steps I take to help ease the overwhelm and steer clear of a breakdown.

It all starts by taking a deep breath and writing everything down. Just brain dump it all onto a page; it feels amazing to get everything out of your head. When I say write everything down, I mean everything; from changing the sheets to brushing your teeth, to editing that session. Write.It.All.Down.

Once you have everything written down you can break the list down to the most basic form. You’ll be able to see even the tasks that seem unremarkable make up a huge portion of your day. Not to mention the feeling of accomplishment of marking brush your teeth & pay the power bill off the list.

Making a task lists frees up all the brain space that was used to make those mental notes and allows you to use that precious brain power to plow through all the items on your list without worrying if you’re forgetting anything.

This next thing may sound crazy; but trust me and stick with me because it is so important.

Your list is made. You know what you need to do. Now: don’t do any of it!

Take 30 minutes and go for a walk, stretch, read, I don’t care what you do as long as you get out of your head and away from your workspace.

Take a break; I promise you will be more productive when you return.

Self care is so important; we need to take care of ourselves and our bodies if we’re going to expect ourselves to take care of others and complete our daily responsibilities. If you’re like me you do it all until you do nothing. I can’t tell you the number of times I have just stopped doing anything and curled up under no less than 50 blankets hiding from the world. How healthy does that sound?!

In a world that is in constant motion it’s not hard to become overwhelmed by it all. We are constantly inundated with new information and having tasks that are nowhere near what is in our job description thrown at us. Keep calm, write it down, take some time for yourself. You’ll get that list done and have time to spare.

Hit me with your best tips to beat the overwhelm!