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Top Strategies for Managing Overwhelm

By Wendy Woods
In October 29, 2013

Mind Clearing Tricks
To understand overwhelm is to understand a bit about the makeup of the brain.  According to Dr. Edward Hallowell, Psychiatrist, the frontal lobes of the brain govern executive functioning which guides decision making, planning, organization, prioritization, and other managerial tasks.  Beneath the frontal lobes lie the deep areas of the brain dedicated to survival. When you are doing well and operating at optimum level, these regions send messages of excitement, satisfaction, and joy.  However, when overloaded, the lower brain reacts primitively, sending signals of fear, anxiety, impatience, anger, or panic.  These alarm signals from the lower brain take control of the frontal lobes impacting productivity and effectiveness.

When you do begin to feel overwhelmed, try the following tricks at your desk:

  • Do an easy rote task such as resetting the calendar on your watch or making a photocopy.
  • Open a dictionary and read a few definitions, or spend five minutes doing a crossword puzzle.

Each of these tricks shuts off alarmist messages from your lower brain and puts your frontal lobes back in full control. And as long as our frontal lobes remain in charge, everything is fine.  (Dr. Hallowell,Harvard Business Review, 2008)

Whole Brain Position
Another way to conquer overwhelm is with the whole brain position. You can do this in your office or even in a meeting. Simply cross your right ankle over your left and your left wrist over your right wrist. Hold the position for at least 30 seconds and then change to the opposite ankle and wrist.  This calms the brain and leads to whole brain thinking.

whole brain

Take 10 Deep Slow Breaths
Not surprising, nothing is as effective at curtailing overwhelm as deep breathing. Why? Breathing is one of the easiest systems in the body to control in order to get the relaxation response (Dr. John Mason, Guide to Stress Reduction). When you take deep breaths from the abdomen, you allow more oxygen to go to your brain thereby making you more productive and increasing your ability to see situations more clearly. In addition, the mind receives a signal to relax which gets passed down to the body resulting in a feeling of calm and rejuvenation.

Take 10 deep breaths when you are feeling overwhelmed. If you can, close your door or put on your headset to minimize interruptions. If possible, close your eyes, otherwise simply gaze down to reduce visual distractions. Take 10 deep, slow breaths and make sure each exhalation is a little longer than each inhalation.  If you are feeling particularly stressed, you may want to increase the number of breaths to 20 or 30. These breathing exercises are ideal because they can be done anytime and anywhere: in a meeting, at the photocopier, or at your desk.

Want additional strategies for your team or organization?

 

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