But boy did I feel like I was a piece of taffy being pulled in a million directions yesterday trying to catch up.
Even though I planned ahead of time and worked HARD to get lots done in my business before I left, it wasn't enough. All I could do yesterday was think about all the stuff that needs to get done in the next 2 months (plus all the stuff that I'm in charge of at home while my hubby is away for business).
And so I found myself panicked yesterday over (1) a new article I'm writing about stress (that's due next week), (2) another article I'm writing that's deep, raw and difficult (and want to submit to a new publication by the end of next week too), (3) a webinar that I'll be holding later this summer (details will be forthcoming in the next month or so), (4) a speech that I'll be giving in September that I HAVE TO FINISH soon and submit to the conference I'll be speaking at, and (5) my new group program that I'm launching later this summer (it starts in August).
Honestly, writing all of that down is bringing a twinge of overwhelm back.
So, what did I do to get rid of the overwhelm? I went through the following process:
ACKNOWLEDGE + ACCEPT
When I get overwhelmed, I feel as though I'm suffocating and am trying to balance the weight of the world on my shoulders. And I get this feeling as though I'll burst into tears at any moment (even though I DON'T CRY - other than at sappy movies). So, the thought of even accepting where I was made me feel even more vulnerable. And that's scary.
Yet I knew that it was necessary nonetheless. Because I know that pretending or ignoring would only make things worse. So, I reminded myself of that and just accepted (which is imperative if you want to let go).
My next step was more terrifying than the first because it involves FEELING INTO the negative emotions. Even though I know how *not* to get caught up in this feeling, I always have this voice in the back of my head telling me that this time it won't work. This time, I'll get lost.
But I know that's fear talking. And I also know that feeling into my negative emotions is required as part of processing them through (and getting to the other side of them). Because if you don't do that, then those emotions will eventually take control (which is even scarier). So I FELT everything.
This may seem strange, but I gave myself 8 hours to do whatever I needed to do before starting to move on. This was a maximum time limit - and I even set an alarm on my phone.
Now, this doesn't mean that I shut my feelings off at the end of this period. It's just a reminder that I must start to move forward and do something when this time limit is reached.
Honestly, 8 hours was long. But I knew that I needed a good amount of time to clean out my inbox, sort through some materials and articles, and get several other house-cleaning type things done (all of which were likely to make me continue to feel overwhelmed). During this time period I did what I needed to do that would continue to feed my overwhelm (it had to get done and I knew that these action items would continue to overwhelm me, so I did them and gutted through it).
And I just let myself feel overwhelmed - without judging it or worrying about it.
Note: this doesn't mean that I had to take the full 8 hours. I ended up taking only 3 of them. That's when I...
Solution mode requires you to get curious and ask questions that will help lead to solutions. For this particular problem, I asked myself what first steps I could take to stop looking so far ahead (because that's what was making me so overwhelmed in the moment).
And I realized that I needed to break everything down into smaller pieces. So, I calendared my webinar dates, my pre-launch and launch dates for my course, and my article due dates. And I asked myself what steps needed to get done along the way (and brain-dumped them onto a piece of paper).
I then arranged each project separately and the various steps for each project into an order that made sense. And finally, I asked myself what the most important project was and which steps could be done for that project on that day.
Not only did I narrow down the project to work on, but I quickly knew which action items could be completed relatively quickly. And I did them. Once done, I had time left to move onto another project (and several steps relating to it).
HAPPILY EXHAUSTED
As I started working on my solutions and came up with my plan, the overwhelmed feeling started to seep away. And today, it's gone completely.
I'm still a bit tired from all the work on my plate (some of which is because I took over a week off), but I'm happy and know that there's an end in site. And so I'm okay with it. I'm not even stressed over it.
You could say that I'm happily exhausted.
I know that I'm not the only one who comes back from vacation feeling overwhelmed by the work and chores that are piling up. In fact, I'm guessing that many of you are (or will soon be) in the same boat. And I'm even betting that sometimes you find yourself feeling this way even when you haven't been on vacation.
So, save this email and come back to it whenever you need a reminder of what to do.
Before I go, I'd love to hear from you. Please hit reply and tell me (1) what makes you feel MOST overwhelmed, (2) how does that feeling manifest within you, and (3) what helps you to get past it?
All my best, | 
