We want to do a lot.
But do a lot less.
Because hours of the day are limited.
The good news is that this is not a hopeless situation.
You can do a lot, without feeling overwhelmed.
Here is how.
1. Stop doing unimportant things and only work on what matters.
We are overwhelmed because we fill our days with minutiae, and work that seems urgent but is not important.
This is why our list of to-dos is long, and our day ends before we come close to striking off every item off that list.
The only way out is to shorten your list.
To do that without reducing the returns, and impact, focus only on what moves you forward, the high-value tasks or the $10k tasks over $10 tasks.
You may think even high-value tasks are many, and how can you do a lot more high-value tasks than you do now.
2. Keep body’s energy levels high
Body and mind are the vehicles through which you do and achieve.
So it is important to keep them in the best shape possible.
How do you do that?
You do that by moving your body, walking, running, and exercising. You do that by sleeping well, eating right, and feeding both your mind and body with good thoughts.
So you curtailed your to-dos and gave your body and mind the attention they needed. Now what?
3. Stay focused, Reduce distractions, and stop wasting time.
To remain focused, find one thing that will have the maximum impact on your life/work.
If you still haven’t found your one thing, ditch multitasking. Focus on one task at a time. Move to the next task only when what you are working on is done.
Endless social media scrolling, binge-watching series on Netflix are big time wasters, and if we start indulging in them, hours go by before we notice what has happened. So either eliminate or minimize these distractions, unless social media is your job.
What to do if you still feel stretched after doing all this?
4. Get help
For all that is outside your zone of genius, find someone to help you.
You are in your zone of genius when you do something that you are better than almost anyone else.
For everything else, get help either from people by delegating or from tools by automating.
After doing all this you should be able to get done with your day’s work in a matter of hours leaving time for pursuits that make life worth living like spending time with family and friends, pursuing hobbies, playing, and going where your curiosities take you.
If you still feel a little less room for some reason, then what should you do?
5. Get rid of FOMO
Accept that you can only do so much.
And let go of some opportunities and park some to-dos for the future. Set a reminder to come back to them when you think you’ll have space for them.
By doing it, you’ll stop feeling overwhelmed and start living a happy, calm, and fulfilled life, where there is no rush and only flow.
