So first off, NEWS!
I have my first-ever solo Dungeons and Dragons adventure out for sale now! https://www.dmsguild.com/product/302673/Swordsbreak-Mine
An abandoned, hallucination-causing mine is creating chaos for a small town. When the village children begin to go missing, adventurers are called in to stop the beast lurking in the dark. Long forgotten in the mountains, Swordsbreak Mine hungers for a feast.
Swordsbreak Mine is a complete dungeon ready for use in any campaign or as a stand alone one-shot game for level 4-6 characters. This adventure was made to help fill in any campaign or side-quest needed during your own game.
I also have a new post up on Speculative Chic all about building a backstory for your next character in your Dungeons and Dragons game. http://speculativechic.com/2020/02/12/5-tips-for-your-dungeons-dragons-characters-backstory/
Now on to the post!
Overwhelm and the Nothing
Flopped on the couch as I watch another episode of NailedIt on Netflix at 7am on Sunday, I glance at the 7-page to-do list I created just a few hours ago. I curl up tighter under my blanket and the cat sprawled out on top of me adjusts herself ever so slightly. I pull out my phone, order Door Dash and don’t move from my spot until my food arrives.
Another weekend gone in the blink of a Netflix marathon.
Despite all my talk of dealing with overwhelm and conquering that beast, this still happens to me. Not nearly as much as it used to but I still struggle with it. So I thought it would be helpful to share some of the tips and tricks that are helping me.
Make an “Uncomfortable Chart”
I got this little bit of awesomeness from Yes and Yes but it’s really made tasks I dread into something a little less miserable. This chart is simply a place where you track tasks you don’t want to do, for whatever reason, and when you complete the task, you get a sticker! It’s amazing how much my brain loves that sticker reward and how many annoying phone calls I will make to get that little cat sticker into my chart.
2. Batch similar tasks.
If I have a bunch of tasks that require a similar skill or place and do them at the same time. If you’re at the grocery store and realize you need batteries too, grab them. If you’re stuck in traffic and have the capacity to make some phone calls, do them together (but don’t drive distracted!), if you need to respond to a ton of emails, go into at once. This helps me feel a bit more organized and less annoyed when I finish one task, like cleaning the bathtub and then groan as I realize I didn’t clean the bathroom sink. If I do it all at once it’s done and over with and out of my brain.
3. Set a timer.
There’s an app on my phone called Forest where you can plant a tree or flower and it will grow for a designated amount of time. If you navigate away from the app then the plant dies. It’s a great way to get me off my phone because of the guilt I feel about a digital plant’s death on my hands. When I am really having a hard time, I set a timer for 5 minutes and do one thing on my list for that long. A lot of times, once the timer goes off, I keep working. If I don’t then at least I’ve done something. This is especially helpful on really bad days when the list seems too insurmountable.
4. One thing.
Sometimes there is one task that is holding up everything else or taking up the most space in your brain. If you can take care of that one task, it’s like a domino and suddenly everything else opens back up. For me, this has been something as simple as taking my car in to go new tires which then makes me feel safe driving to the pet store to get the fancy cat food for my nearly-toothless old lady cat. Find the pin that will open up everything else.
5. Kindness.
The absolutely hardest thing for me is to be nice to myself. I am not kind to myself at all. Especially when I am in the middle of an overwhelm attack. I beat myself up for everything and every possible issue. This is the toughest task for me but also the one that has helped the most. When I no longer berate myself, I feel more capable of getting tasks done. If I am not spending a lot of my energy yelling at myself, I have a whole lot more energy left to tackle those lists.
It’s important to remember that no day will always be perfect. There will be times you get nothing done or when the world knocks you down. It’s okay to rest, recover and then get back on your feet.