What do you do when you feel overwhelmed?

[veggiechicken]

Off to the what I plan to do tomorrow thread to set myself some tasks. Doesn't matter if I don't do them as long as I start on them.

Thank you.

That's why I started that What to do tomorrow thread - as it gives me a couple of tasks to aim for and anything I do in addition is a bonus.
Its also why I have different jobs for each day of the week:-
Monday - sow seeds
Tuesday - clean out chooks
Wednesday - weed summat
Thursday - thinning & transplanting
Friday - flowers
Saturday - catchup
Sunday - sort seeds to sow on Monday.
It does help!!
Make up your own weekly plan and see how it goes.

[Chestnut]

When I get overwhelmed, I try to prioritise the tasks that niggle me most, or will get worse if I delay.
Last time my first choice was to tidy bedroom and bathroom so that I could get through the first ten minutes of the next day without being reminded about something I haven’t done...
I love the ‘what I plan to do’ thread, because I see that I am not the only one who has ‘done some’ and ‘not done yet’.
I also find it helpful to split up the list a bit into diferent sections, limit myself to an achievable number of tasks in a day, and put on hold all the tasks which could wait until next year with no/little detriment. And make a point of thinking back through the day and what I HAVE done, rather than about everything I haven’t done!

[nickdub]

That's why I started that What to do tomorrow thread - as it gives me a couple of tasks to aim for and anything I do in addition is a bonus.
Its also why I have different jobs for each day of the week:-
Monday - sow seeds
Tuesday - clean out chooks
Wednesday - weed summat
Thursday - thinning & transplanting
Friday - flowers
Saturday - catchup
Sunday - sort seeds to sow on Monday.
It does help!!
Make up your own weekly plan and see how it goes.

I don't expect to ever be that organised VC - I get by on general muddle and neglect, interspersed with the occasional bursts of inexplicable enthusiasm. I'm not sure even how many days there were in my last week for example probably about 8 - some weeks on the other hand only consist of 4 or 5 days - v. confusing.

[ecudc]

Stick my head in the compost heap...oh no that’s ostriches.

I work full time so I’ve long ago come to realise my plot won’t be perfect.

I try and make lists but I guess when it comes to grow your own I always know that I’m not fully dependent on what I grow so if it gets done it gets done. If it doesn’t it doesn’t matter too much.

[muck lover]

My garden and polytunnel de stress me.
I have problems with both shoulders leading to pain and difficulty with dressing and many basic activities. I am terribly slow at some things and can’t manage others at all but if things get out of hand there’s always next year.
Last year I hired a 13 year old to help me on Saturdays. The poor child was exhausted but happy after six hours of lugging things about as my avatar. I might get him back this year if I don’t improve.
Alternatively there’s always a mug of coffee, G&T and wine and a gardening magazine...

[bramble]

I find listing stuff gives you the chance to prioritize.
I Find this time of the year to be the busiest.
This year I am running behind.
My first early potatoes are waiting to be planted out.
Normally I would have this done the week leading up to St. Patrick's day.
My Sweet peas are becomingvtsngled up in each other. I sowed these really early so I could have them flowering early.
Tomatoes and peppers are all still indoors trying to protect them from the cold.
Nothing else had been sown yet and this is all the result of the weather.
OH wants to go on holiday and I am pretending I can't hear him.
I have family and cousins coming to visit and wanting to meet up.
Sometimes I feel age is catching up and maybe I should cut back.
I think we can all become bogged down at one time or another.

When the clock changes, and the evenings get longer you will be able to spend more time in your garden.
Try not to let your hobby turn into a chore.

[1Bee]

I regularly get overwhelmed, usually when several "pinch points" coincide at once. I'm struggling a bit at the moment with day job, plot, trustee job and treasurer job, all of which have hit intense busy periods at the same time. This is what works for me, but it's intensely personal, so I'm not telling you what to do!

1) Tell someone. This is a big hurdle for me, as I have hang ups around feeling a failure and being a burden... neither of which actually apply to simply sharing the worry!
2) Cry. I have long ago accepted this as part of my process!
3) Make a list. Usually there's already a list, but just in case...
4) Ruthlessly trim the list. Is this item on the list because I don't want to look bad? That's gone. Do I REALLY need to hand annotate all the bank statements? Ask the accountant. Does so-and-so need this report now, or will next week do? Do I really need to weed that bed now? Can I do a quick hoe and mulch and weed properly later? Or cover it to stop it getting worse for now? Can I just accept that the potatoes will be going in later this year?
5) Add more to the list. I know, I know. But I add a few things to the list that are 100% stress-free and therapeutic, in between the tough stuff. Today, sowing the tomatoes was my reward for reconciling 50 pages of bank statements.
6) Accept what can't be done, and look back over what happened before to get some perspective. Most 'big' things shrink over time.
7) Self-care. Am I sleeping enough, drinking enough water, taking the right vitamins, eating the right food?
8) Do it in small chunks. When I wrote novels, sometimes finishing a book, a page, a chapter felt impossible. But if I set a timer for 20 minutes, that feels achievable. And usually by the time 20 minutes has passed, I just want to keep going anyway... (I also use this when fellwalking... I can always do another 20 steps, even if the whole mountain feels impossible... )

Honestly, the bits that really matter in my process are telling someone I'm feeling overwhelmed, ruthlessly trimming the list and doing small chunks.

Hope everything feels less overwhelming soon. xx

[Bigmallly]

I know where you are coming from NG, it's even harder when your mojo has gone for a holiday. Instead of making a list of 30, I make a list of 3 in the hope that when I have done those I have forgotten what the other 27 were................

[Small pumpkin]

BM I thought your answer was going to be, go fishing

Because if the garden isn't giving you the enjoyment because it's overwhelming for whatever reason. Then stepping away from it completely even if it's only for a couple of hours. Will do you good. Fishing is a great way to put the world back into prospective .

[Bigmallly]

Nah, thought I'd try and give a sensible answer for a change................

[planetologist]

I prioritise harvesting. What with self-seeders and perennials I've been pleasantly surprised how much food the garden has produced when I have been ill or with very little energy for most of the last 4 years.

[sparrow100]

How are you doing with your lists and progress against them?

I have just *accidentally* bought more dahlias. Goodness knows where on earth I am going to put them!

[Guest]

How are you doing with your lists and progress against them?

I have just *accidentally* bought more dahlias. Goodness knows where on earth I am going to put them!

Ummm. Been up all night with oldest being ill. Have operated on Talking Ted who she bought home from school for the weekend. (I think he is a jinx as every child in the book writes they were ill along with movies, pancakes and pizza ) I am currently making a friend for Talking Ted. As for 'The List' it isn't going anywhere but I have stopped letting it bother me for a little bit

Also not on my list - I need to bring my dahlias in to force for cutting

[lottie dolly]

Good for you NG,a propblem shared and all that,plus this lovely sun is a big boost,by just feeling a little more relaxed and the sun,you will soon get a mojo for something on your list,then days of down again,but slowly things will sort themselves out,i know from experiance,as do others x

[DataMonkey]

In the end, very little absolutely HAS to be done. No-one will die if you don't sort out that flower bed this year.

I often suffer from a lack of motivation, and because my allotment is out of sight of my house, it's easy to let the horrible jobs that I know are waiting there put me off, and then I just don't go.

What I do is to tell myself that I'm won't stress the jobs I don't want to do, like digging out that mass of brambles, but I'll just pop round there and do something I enjoy like watering what's in the greenhouse or pot on some seedlings.

Then I nearly always find that once I get there and do the nice bits, I decide to just do a bit of the brambles, and because it feels like a bonus it doesn't feel like a necessary chore.