Overload vs. overwhelm

Went to a great training yesterday on recognizing and intervening with overload and overwhelm.

In a nutshell:

overwhlem - aware of many tasks, assign high priority to all of them, wonder where to begin, rush, rush, rush, lower work quality.  Overwhelm is a situation where organization and focus are lacking.

overload - aware of many tasks but no idea how to even start, move toward apathy and burnout.  Overload is a situation where motivation and interest are lacking.

Obviously neither is good for the workplace or for home.  My big takeaway was how the brain processes time - in overwhelm time feel like it flies, in overload it can drag.  The speaker suggested that we can re-program the way our brain approaches time and focus by starting each day with a sustained attention activity (5-20 minutes) , 20 minutes of movement or exercise, and 5 minutes quiet reflection.   My immediate thought was "I don't have time for that!" which is exactly the problem - if I can't make 30-40 minutes for myself each morning, I'm not taking care of "me".

Now time to think about if/what to do with my big thoughts :)


speakers blog is at: tararobinson.com