These 4 one-minute habits may seem small, but they work quickly and are key to stop feeling overwhelmed whether it’s with all the things you have to manage in life right now or at work. And because it’s easier to see results when you know how something works, I will also share with you why these habits are effective.
1-minute habits to stop feeling overwhelmed
1. Pause and ask
Whenever things start feeling just too much, take a pause and answer this simple question. “What is the one small thing that I feel I can do right now?”. Or, “what one small thing can I do right now to influence this situation the way I want?”
Why this works –
- It snaps us out of the stress mode by forcing us to think and reason. This action disengages our reptilian brain which was limiting our thinking capacity when triggered by stress.
- Because we think this would need less effort from us compared to all that we are supposed to do, we feel less resistance to taking action. It’s based on the principle of least effort. This will shift our focus from how we are feeling to what needs to be done.
And because action is the best antidote to stress and overwhelm, it will help us feel back in control once more.
2. Smart batching to stop feeling overwhelmed
Sometimes, the sheer amount of things that need to be done can make us roll over in bed with a ‘why is it morning again’. You know what I’m talking about, right?
And the one-minute habit that can help us stop feeling overwhelmed and start the day feeling totally in control is ‘smart batching’. Before getting down to that to-do list, take a minute to sort all the like tasks together and bunch them into groups.
It’s different from batching for time management in that, smart batching focuses more on managing time, energy, and motivation better. Plan task groups alternately that demand different energy levels.
Like, outdoor tasks, followed by indoor ones. Then may be tasks that require interacting with other people followed by some quiet focused work like planning or brainstorming.
Why it works –
These different groups generally use different functionally associated neurons in our brain. And so when we alternate task groups, it provides a kind of subtle downtime to the ones that we were using earlier. This helps us manage the effects of stress on our body better.
Because alternating task batches means working in a different way every time a batch is completed, it breaks the monotony… you know that feeling of “how long? I can’t do this anymore”. Also, knowing that you have finished a batch, putting a tick against it, keeps the motivation level up because the little doses of dopamine it releases every time.
3. Limits are good
To stop feeling overwhelmed with all that’s left to do, you know when you are doing something and the thought of all that’s left to do kind of makes you feel tired already? That’s stress mode kicking in… freeze of the fight, flight, freeze response.
So, to stop that from happening, take a few seconds before beginning any task to set the timer on. Because whatever time we allow for anything, it stretches to fill up that time. It’s called the Parkinson’s law. So you can easily imagine what happens when you don’t begin with a timeframe in mind.
And to know why this works and what can make it add to your stress, watch the video up top. It also has the fourth 1-minute habit that is based strongly on how our brain works.
Meet you right over there.
