The Truth About My Morning of Overwhelm

This post was updated on 16/05/21

I’m going to tell you the truth. I had a morning of overwhelm and it really surprised me. I didn’t really know what was happening until I was sobbing on the kitchen counter. I best explain.

Yesterday morning, EVERYTHING seemed overwhelming. My to do list was full, with lots of exciting projects, work and otherwise. I am also taking part in two free challenges this week, one personal and one business development. Joining the Facebook lives have changed my routine, which can be fun and exciting but not always. It threw me out and as I was already tired, I had to think again on how to structure my day and the order I was going to do things. This might sound basic, but when you tire easily, routine is important. However I think all of us crave routine, whether we realise it or not.

So I’ll explain the background. I’d wanted to have a catch up of laundry over the weekend, which my husband helped with because as it turned out, I mostly needed to rest. The washing had been done and partly sorted and was all out on the kitchen counter, along with an overflowing ironing basket!

Monday morning, I looked around the kitchen after breakfast, in the middle of my disrupted routine and just burst into tears! I didn’t know what to do next. I didn’t know whether to

• get my routine back on track timing-wise,
• get the “after breakfast chores” done,
• get the clothes put away and ironing sorted
• or actually because of the time, start work

Hands up if you’re head has ever felt like that?

I could justify every point as the most important so my mind was whirring round and round. This was until overwhelm took over and I just burst into tears with cries of “I don’t know what to do.”

The crying wasn’t just about there being ironing out. It never really is that obvious. It was because I’d had enough. A weekend without enough rest, starting a week with unknowns in my calendar, not sticking to my routine. It was a release to cry but I was feeling exhausted. What I needed, beyond anything else, was to rest and come back to decision making when I felt more alert and energised.

So in true British style, I relaxed on the sofa with a cup of tea, watching Jeremy Vine and taking things slow. I concentrated on my breathing, the program and snuggling Harvey. Before too long I was ready to face the rest of the day.

You may be surprised to read a post like this from me. It’s not my usual style. I like to give you an insight into my world every now and again and one of my values is to be authentic. This post might help to reassure you that I’m only human and do sometimes suffer with overwhelm and shiny object syndrome!

I already know some ways I can learn from the experience and I’m looking forward to sharing these with you. For now, I’d love to hear back from you.  Have you got a story a bit like this one?