1: Take some deep breaths:

When was the last time you paid attention to your breathing? We breathe all day every day and yet we hardly ever do it consciously. We hardly ever take the time to connect with our breath and fully allow it to fill our lungs and calm our bodies.

Here is a quick exercise:

Close your eyes and turn your attention inward to your breath. At first just take a few minutes to notice how it feels as your breath goes in and out of your body. This in itself will help to bring about calm. Then take about 10 deep breaths into your lungs and your abdomen. Imagine you are breathing in calm and peace and letting go of any tension and stress that is being held in your body. After the deep breathing, allow your breath to return to normal. And take some time to notice how it feels.

2: Give your feelings some attention

Our emotions are part of our body, mind & spirits’ navigation system. They are indicating when things are going well. Hello happiness, joy and excitement but they also indicate when things are in need of our attention. Enter sadness, fear and overwhelm. Emotions are an essential part of our lives; the ‘positive’ and the ‘negative’ emotions yet people try to ignore their emotions and by doing so it actually just makes them increase in intensity. One of the ways to help reduce the negative impact of the feelings is to actually pay attention to what the emotion is communicating to you. Ask yourself: what is it I am feeling? And what is it here to tell me? Then listen for the answer. You might find it a bit strange at first but the more that you listen and ask what your emotions are telling you, the easier it becomes to move through them.

3: Take some time out

Now this might seem counterintuitive when you are feeling overwhelmed with so much on your list of things to do but in actual fact stepping away from the list to do can be one of the best things to help you regain focus. We often get so caught up in the frenzy of our busy lives that we don’t take any down time. Pushing ourselves to meet deadlines, juggling our work, families and responsibilities that we hardly having any time for ourselves. Next time you are feeling overwhelmed I ask you to take some time to do something that you enjoy to clear your head. Head outside in the fresh air, sit on the grass, or by the water, meet a friend for coffee or go for a walk. You might be surprised at how clear thinking you are when you return and how easily you can tackle your to do list.