Read This If You Have Too Much to Do

Do you feel stressed because you have too much to do? Have you ever considered that perhaps it isn’t that you don’t have enough time, but perhaps you have misplaced feelings of anxiety? Or possibly, and this may be a hard pill to swallow, you may have poor time management?

Why Do I Need More Time?

Like most people, you may feel like you don’t have enough time on your hands. However, experts say that your feelings, while valid, don’t reflect reality. Sometimes, the feeling is caused by several different factors that do not include time at all. 

So why does it feel like you always need more time? 

First, you have too many items on your to-do list

Did you get so excited to accomplish a lot in your day that you wrote down too many things to do on your list? While it may seem like a good idea to have a loaded list as it might encourage you to work harder, it could often cause those feelings of anxiety. 

Whenever an item is added to your written list, it is also added to your mental list. This adds to the pressure you already feel. Although you mean well, you have to write things in your to-do list that will fit your timeframe. 

If you write too many things in the to-do list, you’ll end up with more than you can chew, which will develop into anxiety about time management.

Second, you have set the bar too high

When you set up expectations of yourself, you need to be practical and logical about it. You cannot ask yourself to do too many things that require immediate attention. You have to learn to keep your focus. More importantly, you have to teach yourself to manage your expectations. 

The more you expect, the more likely are you to be disappointed. So instead, allow yourself to keep those expectations at bay. Focus not only on the goal but on the learning process. When you learn more, even if you don’t complete the task today, it already means you gained something out of the experience. 

That brings in more value than any other accomplished task. 

Third, you are too competitive

If you’re too competitive with yourself or compare yourself to others, you will definitely feel like you don’t have enough time. Whether you are competing with someone else or competing with a younger version of yourself, it will just create inner conflict. Continued exposure to the experience will increase the anxiety that you feel. 

How Do You Reduce This False Anxiety?

Whenever it feels like 24 hours is not enough, stop and think for a moment. The following tips will help you reduce the feeling of false anxiety and increase self-confidence that all things will be done when you need them to be. 

Tip 1: Take things slow

Whenever you are stressed, you feel like you can’t catch your breath. Try to take things slow. Take deep breaths and help reduce the stress levels in your body. 

Some may refer to it as yoga breathing while others call it meditative breathing, but they are all one and the same. All you need is to breathe slowly. Count from one to five for each inhale and each exhale. 

This type of breathing will help you deal with your feelings of anxiety and make you feel like you have more time in your hands. 

Tip 2: Try to reframe your thoughts

Anxiety has always been associated with negative emotions. However, very few people recognize its power to be an activator. This means that every time you feel anxious, it means there is something you want to do but don’t want to face. 

On the other hand, excitement is similar to the feeling of anxiety, but it is viewed as a positive emotion. Perhaps what you can do instead is to reframe your thoughts. Consider any feeling of anxiety as something that causes your excitement. 

If you must, tell yourself that you are excited. Then, gently repeat it until convinced. Whenever the brain thinks that you are dealing with positive emotion, your feelings will then follow. In the end, you will experience something exciting. 

Tip 3: Always consider what is most important

Whenever it feels like you’re dealing with a lot, remember that you can solve it by prioritizing tasks. Sometimes, part of the inner conflict is the fact that you cannot identify which of the tasks should be done first. This will make you feel like you can be pulled in many different directions and lose your focus altogether. 

Stop and think for a moment. You have to have a clear idea of what needs to be done first. When it comes to deciding, which one should be the priority, remember to consider the most urgent. 

Whenever it feels like you have so much on your plate, and need more time, take a moment to pause. Consider what you have in your hands and what you can do instead. Overthinking your needs will only make conditions worse. Before you know it, you have dealt with the issue and are playing with more than enough time in your hands.