“Leaders with no discernment can do tremendous damage in a short amount of time.”
-Mel Lawrence
We all get overwhelmed by too much happening at once.
- Maybe you’re overwhelmed by all the meetings and commitments on your calendar.
- Perhaps you’ve reached your limit with all the news reports of gloom and doom.
- Maybe the bills are piling up and you aren’t sure how to make ends meet.
This is when you need discernment – finding a way forward that is best at this moment.
Discernment is an odd word. It’s less about absolute right or wrong and more about using all of your senses, including intuition, to understand what’s happening around you and then finding a way forward that’s best suited for you.
Discernment is key to finding a way past being overwhelmed.
And this is where the magic of Post-it Notes comes in.
A friend recently reminded me of a conversation we had several years ago. I‘d almost forgotten about it until she recalled how it was a turning point for her and her business. She said it helped her find her path amid the chaos.
During that conversation years ago, she told me about her business and all the things she was struggling with at the time. She had so many things vying for her attention that she couldn’t think clearly. She was feeling overwhelmed.
She found it hard to sort through what was important and what wasn’t.
So I opened my bag and whipped out a stack of Post-it Notes (sounds silly, but I almost always have some with me). I told her to start writing. One thought per Post-it.
In less than 15 minutes she was calm and focused. She had a plan for what she wanted to do. I didn’t do much other than give her some Post-it Notes and a few steps to follow.
Here are 3 steps to discerning your way past overwhelm with a stack of Post-its:
1. Write one thing running through your head per Post-it Note. Keep going until you can’t think of anything more. It doesn’t matter if it’s big or little, urgent or random.
Why it helps:
Listing all your issues is soothing. When you write them down, they stop taking up valuable head space. It gives your brain a chance to rest because it knows you’ve captured everything on these little pieces of paper.
2. Categorize your Post-its. Find a way to create categories for your Post-its. Group them in a way that makes sense to you. I recommend at least 2 categories and no more than 4. This is the reason I like Post-its over just listing things out on a single piece of paper. You can move things around.
Why it helps:
Grouping items helps your brain see how your thoughts are related. Reducing all your Post-its into 2-4 categories makes everything feel less overwhelming. You start to see a place for all your thoughts.
3. Prioritize the Post-its in each category. Rank the Post-its within a category from most important to least important. The specifics for why you choose to rank them are up to you. Some people pick the more pressing issue as most important. Others pick the easiest things to accomplish. However you choose to do it, prioritize in a way that works for you.
Why it helps:
Prioritizing identifies what’s most important to you. You can wrap your mind around where to start without feeling like you have to do everything at once.
From here, the way forward usually appears. It’s the work of discernment – using all your senses to find the best way forward for you.
Every person is a leader. Whether you are leading an organization or your own life. This work of discernment is important.
Things can go wrong quickly if you allow yourself to be overwhelmed for too long. Next time you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, grab a stack of Post-it Notes and see what comes up. You might be surprised how clear things become.
How might a stack of Post-its help you feel more confident and courageous?
If you’re looking for more ways to step into confidence and success, check out my video series on Ego Vs. True Self:
