Overwhelmed? Too Busy? Here's How To Get Through It

Hello brains. Okay, so I'm currently in what I like to call too busy, like past busy because right now I'm a mom to a young kid. I'm trying to run a company. I'm writing another book and I'm still making YouTube videos and expanding to other platforms as well. So naturally, I'm doing great. I'm kidding. I am quite stressed, but also not kidding because here's the thing. Like a lot of people with ADHD, I often do well when I've got a lot on my plate. I feel productive. useful, empowered. It's easier to get started when I know I don't have a ton of time to get something done. It's also easier to completely neglect myself.

If that sounds relatable, you're in the right place. Let's talk about the first things to go when you're in survival mode, which I have dipped in and out of basically my entire life. It's often things like downtime, basic hygiene, eating well, sleep. It can also be communication. Maybe you turtle and don't reach out even when you could maybe use the support. Cleaning up and decluttering, planning often goes out the window because who has time to plan? I just need to get stuff done. And here's the thing, the reason they're the first things to go is largely because they don't have immediate impact. And when you're busy, it can even feel good to sacrifice those things because it looks like you're doing great. You look productive. You look capable. You look like you're crushing it until you're not. Even if you're actually just slowly disintegrating. Every time I've been in super busy survival mode for too long, I start to fall apart. Sometimes literally. Yesterday, this tooth broke. That feels symbolic because the stuff we sacrifice, sleep, self-care, food, organization, connection, those aren't extras. Those are the systems and supports that keep us functional. So

when they disappear, it's not just, oh well. It's like removing the scaffolding while you're still building the building temporarily. That's fine. maybe, but it often isn't as temporary as I tell myself it will be. And for me, staying in survival mode and neglecting these basic needs too long looks like my emotion regulation gets worse. I forget things. I drop balls. I'm more anxious. I'm more likely to snap at people I love. My sleep gets worse, which makes everything worse. My environment gets messier, which stresses me out more. And also, now I can't find the thing I need to do the thing I'm trying to do. I get migraines, stomach aches, my wrist pain flares up. In the past, I've ended up in burnout, unable to work much at all, and now I need an emergency dentist appointment. Okay, that is sobering. So, the obvious

answer is when you're super busy, prioritize the things that keep you functional. And yes, that is correct. But in practice, it's not that easy. Because when you're already drowning, prioritize self-care can feel like someone yelling, "Have you tried not being on fire? " So, I decided to write down, track down, and share some of the best hacks that I have found for being in survival mode without self-destructing. Not how to thrive, not how to become a morning routine influencer, just how to get through the busy season without sacrificing your health, your relationships, and your teeth. Hack

number one, build in error tolerance. Mistakes are more likely to happen when we're rushing or multitasking. The goal is to keep those mistakes from turning into a crisis. Error tolerance looks like auto pay, auto refills, spare chargers, spare keys, buffer time in your schedule, backup snacks in your bag and in your backup to your backup stash. Having backup supplies in general if possible, so when you forget to get more of a thing before you run out, you have that backup. Then when you go to get more and you replace the backup supplies, not the ones you're currently using. Life is hard enough right now without having to drop everything and run to the store. Hack number two, for

everyday decision-heavy tasks like getting dressed or feeding yourself, have default options and keep those options perpetually available. Ideally, you decide what you're going to wear the night before. Right now, I can't even rely on that. Because in survival mode, decision-m can be harder. And when decisions get hard, you either freeze or you default to whatever is easiest, even if it's detrimental to your actual goals or makes zero sense for the season you're currently in. This is how I end up perpetually cold. So now I'm intentionally choosing defaults that are kind to my brain and body. Default outfits, default snacks, default meals. Not perfect, not fancy, just this will keep me functional. Defaults aren't perfect. Defaults are good enough and kind. For clothes, my default outfit right now, thanks to a very good friend who helped me with this, is jeans, a soft base layer, and a top layer, often a sweater, so I'm warm enough for winter in Seattle, but if I get too warm, I can take it off and I am still dressed. For snacks, my default for a while was cookies, which is probably how I ended up in this situation. Now, I try to choose something with protein or fiber. Also, because that helps stabilize my blood sugar, which helps my brain work. Right now, for me, that's carrots and hummus, an avocado, or chomps. I really like Chomps and they're the sponsor of this video. Chomps is a really good way of supporting my goal of taking better care of myself. It's a great source of protein, 10 g of protein, zero g of sugar. My teeth are very happy about that. And it's a great default snack because they have different flavors. So, I got the Chomps variety pack. There is smoky barbecue seasoned beef stick, jalapeno beef stick, salt and pepper venison stick, uh sea salt beef stick, taco season. Let me try the smoky barbecue season beef stick. I have a new favorite. It's really good. Better and better for you than the cookies I was eating as my default snack, for sure. I still do really like the original though. I've talked about this before, but one of the reasons I like Chomps is because it's so easy to stash it places so that if you haven't eaten, you can. I can completely forget to go grocery shopping and still have something to eat that is going to meet my nutritional needs, which is nice. Have you tried Chomps before? I'm really curious what flavors you like. Actually, I'm would like to see because I can let Chomps know. Tell me in the comments below if you'd like to try Chomps. maybe support your own goals, New Year's goals, or just make life easier survival mode goals. Go to chmps. com/adh15 or enter code ADHD15 to get 15% off your order and free shipping. By the way

having a default does not mean you have to go with your default. It's just the option you go with when you don't have the energy to figure out something else, which for me right now is a lot of the time. The key is to make sure you have enough of whatever your default is that it can stay your default option. you won't run out before you have a chance to do laundry again or run to the store. Speaking of laundry, hack number three

simplify the systems that are critical to your functionality because systems that only work when you have time will collapse when you don't. And then you don't just lose the system, you lose the support, you lose the functionality. So ask yourself, what systems do I rely on to function? And do they still work when I'm overwhelmed? For example, putting stuff away. I used to fold my clothes Marie Condo style. It was beautiful. It worked great for me. It's one of the few systems that I was actually able to stick to. It is also not realistic for my current life, which apparently even Marie Condo discovered after she had kids. So, reluctantly, I switched to a system I can maintain even when I'm busy. Bins. Cass from Clutterbug actually suggested this. Replace your dresser with a calic shelf and bins. I labeled mine and drew pictures so my toddler could even help. I talk more about the importance of designing systems that work even on bad brain days here. Hack number four, block off time

for essential to your well-being activities well in advance because then you can be generous with those time blocks. You can always cancel them if you need to, and you can do that a lot more easily than you can fit them in during a busy week. If I'm already overloaded and I try to squeeze in exercise, downtime, or a day off, my calendar's like, "No. " But if I schedule it weeks or months ahead when I don't have a bunch of stuff planned yet, then I can schedule around it. This works for anything that keeps you functional. Therapy, movement, rest, friend time, a day off, even 15 minutes of quiet. Regularly scheduled maintenance time is especially critical when you're super busy because taking the time you need when you realize you need it is not always possible. I talk more about that in this video. Hack number five. For

important things that don't have immediate impact, add immediate impact. Again, one of the reasons some of this stuff is the first to go is because there aren't immediate consequences to things like self-care, but we can add immediate consequences. My friend Lexa has silk pillowcases she only gets to use if she's washed her face. Genius. So now I do things like I don't get to wind down with Netflix until I've brushed my teeth like I am a child. But it works. You can do this with opening the mail, drinking water, bedtime, hygiene, any non-urgent thing your brain is not incentivized to prioritize until it becomes urgent, at which point it's probably a crisis. That way, it's less likely to become a crisis. There are other ways to add motivation, too. More in my video on motivational planks. If you're in survival mode right now

you're not failing. You're overloaded. So, pick one of these hacks, just one. Add one oops, I forgot to do something critical block to your schedule for one decision-heavy task. Choose default options that are kind to your brain and body. Simplify one system that's critical to your functionality. Block off regular time in the future for one essential to your well-being activity. Make one important but not urgent task feel more urgent by adding immediate consequences, positive or negative. Give yourself one support back because you deserve care even when you're busy, especially when you're busy. And tell me in the comments what's the first thing to disappear when you get overwhelmed because I would love to know. I'm not alone. Thank you to our brain advocates and all our Patreon brains for supporting content like this. We just revamped our tiers pretty recently, so check it out. There's lots of cool stuff over there now, including free content as well as at the $25 level, a weekly topic specific Q& A like on time management. We have multiple tiers depending on how you would like to engage with the community. We'd love to see you over there and have you join the most knowledgeable ADHD community on the internet. Like, subscribe, click all the things and I will see you next video. Bye. It rains.