EPISODE 37: Six Tips to Negate Overwhelm in Work and Life - a podcast by Arianna Pienaar

I was leading a teleconference this morning with twenty interesting, diverse, solo entrepreneurs, consultants and coaches. The hot subject up for discussion was how overwhelmed, beat, tired, and burned-out many of the people were feeling due to the “too much to do / can’t stop now” syndrome.

Are you one of those people who can’t seem to stop “doing?”

I have yet to meet anyone who hasn’t felt overwhelmed from time to time. Since it tends to feel uncomfortable, if not downright unpleasant, we tend to view it as negative and as a weakness. We don’t dare to admit we are overwhelmed or dare to talk about it, which can leave us feeling isolated and alone, further exacerbating the feeling. We often deny we are overwhelmed because we do not know how to stop the frenetic behavior that leads to this feeling. So we do nothing. Our employers, colleagues or friends often do not help support us to stop overworking.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Primarily, this syndrome occurs in our work life but it can carry over to our personal and family life, and it frequently does. Focusing on projects often begins with good intentions but we can quickly and easily be overwhelmed if we do not have a plan to minimize and balance our work. Getting the project finalized for your team, writing the copy for your website, designing the new sales brochure or completing the 90-day marketing plan are extremely important – but having a balanced, health life is equally important.

This stressful pattern is telling you to change your life! Once you get this message, it is easier to identify the steps you need to take to shift out of the behavior quickly.

Following are helpful strategies gleaned from my personal experience and from my work with coaching clients who are burned out, growing cranky, frustrated and even depressed. These strategies immediately diminish feelings of being overwhelmed so you can refocus and make some work/life balance decisions.

What we talk about:

• How I burned out twice before I found a new way of working


• Overwhelm being seen as a negative state, or weakness


• How perpetual start-up mode can contribute to overwhelm


• How your physical health (and, importantly, ignoring it) contributes to how you feel in your life and work


• My top six strategies to create space in my life and avoid overwhelm (some of these might surprise you)

Mentions & Resources:

Ari P Podcast S4 E2 - arianna.com.au/ari-p-podcast/s4e2

Work with Arianna 1:1 - arianna.com.au/offerrings

Further episodes of Ari P Podcast

Further podcasts by Arianna Pienaar

Website of Arianna Pienaar