My friends asked me what I do when I'm overwhelmed, so...

I was trying to do my wind down routine - gotta keep that sleep score up, amirite? - and my mind felt like a beehive at its peak. It wasn't a great sign...

Several friends confided last 2 weeks they are feeling overwhelmed with everything on their table. And the candle I was burning on both sides was coming dangerously close to the middle.

(Fun fact at the end of the post)

Quick fix to get started

(takes 5 min to do, even less to read about)

Your brain treats unfinished mental tasks as more urgent than they are.

This is called the Zeigarnik effect, but most people don't realize how powerful it is. Dump those swirling thoughts onto paper. Not to solve them, just to get them out of your head. Once your brain knows nothing will slip through the cracks, it stops treating everything like a crisis.

This took me 45 min and I ended up with 2 dense pages of TODO items, so your mileage may vary lol

You're Overwhelmed by the Wrong Things

Overwhelm feels like having too much to do. But is it too much or just doing things that don't matter to you?

When what you're doing connects with who you are, your capacity expands. When it doesn't, even small tasks feel impossible.

This is why some people can work 80-hour weeks on passion projects without feeling overwhelmed, while others get crushed by a grocery list.

Don't try to do less. Do more of what's aligned with who you are.

You think you're on your own

Most overwhelmed people sit on a goldmine of unused support. We tell ourselves we're being considerate by not asking for help, but we're just scared.
Scared of being a burden, scared of losing control, scared of admitting we can't handle everything alone. The people around us want to contribute. We just never give them the chance.

Yeah, I do this too (Don't @ me, lol), and it's possible nobody can help. Keep reading.

Overwhelm as Growth Signal

Peak overwhelm often occurs right before a breakthrough. Knowing this keeps me going tbh

What if that crushing feeling isn't a sign you're doing something wrong, but that you're on the verge of something big?
Instead of running from the discomfort, try getting curious about it. What is this intensity trying to teach you? What new level of capability might be emerging?

This Too Shall Pass

When you're drowning, it feels permanent. Pain feels long.

But overwhelm is almost never permanent. Busy seasons end, projects wrap up, life has natural ebb and flow. We just forget this when we're in the thick of it. Zoom out and remember the rhythmic nature of demand. It can provide instant relief.

Finding What Matters

Forget soul-searching and vision boards. Want to know what you value? Pay attention to your energy patterns.

• When do you lose track of time?
• What do you do without forcing yourself?
• What gets you fired up in conversations nobody asked you to have?

Your body knows your values before your mind catches up. That feeling of "coming alive" is the data showing you the way. Follow it.

Ok, Z, but I really don't have anyone to ask for help

Sometimes you can't delegate the specific task, but you can almost always find someone to help you think it through.

The most transformative help often comes from people who know nothing about your situation but ask the naive questions you've stopped asking yourself.
Like that friend who wonders "why does this need to be perfect?" and your whole approach shifts.

You're never truly alone with your friendly neighborhood AI, use it as well.

What "Leaning In" Means

So is the solution to lean into it?? What does that even look like?

What leaning in actually looks like:

Not pushing through blindfolded, but getting curious about the overwhelm itself. Instead of "I need to get through this", try "What is this feeling trying to tell me?"

Overwhelm often contains crucial information about timing, priorities, or approach that you miss when you're just trying to power through.

This might mean temporarily doing less but with more presence and attention. Slowing down enough to notice what's actually happening, what assumptions you're making, what you're trying to control that you can't.

Sometimes the breakthrough comes from realizing you've been solving the wrong problem.

When you stop fighting the overwhelm and start accepting it, much of its power over you dissolves.

So this really works for you? It's messy, I try.

Fun fact

The 10,000-step goal originated as a marketing ploy for the Manpo-kei pedometer in Japan, with the number chosen for its visual resemblance to a walking figure in the kanji (万).

It’s wild how a catchy gimmick became a global fitness standard, despite no solid scientific backing at the time.

Studies since then suggest 7,000-8,000 steps can be plenty for health benefits, but 10,000 just stuck. Gotta love how culture and marketing shape our habits! 😂

Cheers, Zvonimir