When You're Overwhelmed, Take It In Bite-Sized Pieces

As a nontrad, its very easy to become overwhelmed by all that needs to be done - school, family, work and life. How does one handle all this stuff at one time? Take it in bite-sized pieces. If you're a list maker, make a list of what you have to do. I would caution against putting huge tasks on your list - things like "Clean house, study for test", etc. A bite-sized piece would be, "Vacuum, review notes from last week's class", etc. A bite-sized piece is one specific part of a task.

When faced with a huge task, like studying for a test, ask yourself, "How can I make this more manageable?" Break down the task into several different smaller tasks. Studying for a test can be broken down into: read the chapter, review terms, review notes, form a study group. Cleaning the house can be broken down into: vacuum the rugs, clean the bathroom, dust the living room, do a dark load of laundry. When you finish a bit-sized piece, cross it off your list. Pretty soon, all the tasks will get done and you won't be so overwhelmed.

Some people get overwhelmed when they look at the big picture, but smaller tasks don't seem so intimidating. I find that if I take just a few minutes to break up a task into bite-sized pieces, I can get more accomplished. Stop, take a deep breath, and take it in bite-sized pieces.

Stay tuned . . .