Coaching Column: Get out of your head

Sam Mednick is a professional life and executive coach based in Barcelona (www.blueprintcoaching.ca). A Canadian native, she’s been living in the city for eight years working with companies as well as individuals focusing on transitions, communication, leadership training, time management and productivity, as well as emotional intelligence development. For more coaching tips, tune into her Podcast.

SAM SAYS: GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD

Dear Sam,

I was recently let go from my job, and although I was given a good severance package, I’m starting to feel the pressure of needing to go back to work. I was looking for different opportunities, but lately I find that I’ve been putting off the search. Every time I open my computer I’m overcome with this feeling of being overwhelmed. As a result, I close the laptop, do nothing and then feel bad about my lack of productivity. It’s become quite cyclical and I’m not sure how to get out of this funk. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,

Wishing I was Underwhelmed

 Hi Wishing I was Underwhelmed,

It sounds like you’ve gotten yourself into a ‘wish it would all go away’ loop. As you said, it’s cyclical and so the question becomes: What can we do to break the cycle? This is something many people struggle with, especially when it comes to things we perceive as complicated or as having too many ‘moving parts’.

‘Feeling overwhelmed’ can mean many different things. Before we figure out how to combat it, first you must try and gain more clarity around what exactly is overwhelming you.

Some things you can try:

Identify and name your emotions when you feel this way. When you start feeling overwhelmed, take note of what’s going through your head. Say it out loud and write it down. Once you have a clearer picture, ask yourself: What would make it easier for me to get past this?

The idea is to break down both the problem and the solution into smaller chunks that are less scary. Many of us struggle with thinking not only about what we have to do now, but the millions of steps that are needed to get where we want to be.

So once you have a better idea of the ‘why’, here are some small steps to take in the direction that you want to go:

1: Break it into digestible pieces. Instead of fixating on the end result, jot down three steps that will get you started and focus on those.

2: Schedule your steps. From the three steps you’ve decided on above, take the first one and assign it a date and time in your agenda. Writing things down makes them real, and we’re much more likely to hold ourselves accountable. Once you’ve finished the task that day, schedule step two for the next day and so on.

3: Take a step back and get out of your head. What happens when we get overwhelmed is that we’re consumed by our thoughts and stuck inside our heads. This will continue as long as we let it, ultimately leading to the vicious cycle. Be conscious of how much time you’re spending in your head and create actionable steps that will help you get out. For some people it’s going for a 10-minute walk several times a day. For others it’s going out for lunch with friends or writing in a journal. Find what works for you and be deliberate about making it happen.

To share your thoughts on this column or ask Sam a question email sam@blueprintcoaching.ca, or write to Metropolitan at editorial@barcelona-metropolitan.com.