How to Stop Being Constantly Overwhelmed

Huge thanks to CuriosityStream for sponsoring this video and supporting my channel.

If you feel constantly overwhelmed - like you've always got too much to do and not enough time to do it in - then you're in the same boat that I've found myself in for several months.

Today, I'll walk you through the plan that I've been putting into action in order to strike a better work-life balance.

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[gabriellewilliams]

1. Reset sprint (reorganize your life )
2. Re establish your routine (if it was a complex routine start small and slowly incorporate more)
3. Define priorities and learn to say no

[dylanoshea]

Rebuilding your habits is like running on a treadmill. If you hop off when running at 12kmph you won't be able to get back on at that speed. You need to start again from a low speed and work back up.

[ma-teman]

One thing that I do whenever I feel overwhelmed is disconnecting from social media or technology as much as I can. What the constant flow of information on the internet it can add to me feeling overwhelmed plus being disconnected from technology can also help me get a lot of my work done which will help me feel less overwhelmed since it ends up getting me a little bit ahead.

[Chandasouk]

Overwhelmed, underwhelmed but never whelmed

[TaraWagner]

I love this topic. Burnout, procrastination, work/life balance...they are all things I talk about/coach on. Our culture feeds those things more and more. It takes so much more awareness and practice to break from the crowd and not get sucked into the riptide.

[makitajazzqueen]

Hey Thomas! I wanted to share with you something my therapist told me once. He said "Ok, you work and are passionate about your work. You work out and eat healthy so your body is well. You like reading and you have plenty of fulfilling hobbies. But when do you slow down? I mean, when do you take a minute to connect with yourself?"
And this made me think a lot, and I realised that that's what my life was missing: a moment of literally doing nothing, not be listening to music, not be listening to a podcast in the background, completely disconnected from any technology and any task, just staring out the window and letting my thoughts rub free. I used to feel very overwhelmed all the time, but ever since I have started doing this once in a while, I have felt much healthier and relaxed and energetic.
Just a thought that I wanted to share with you so maybe you can explore it and see if you find it works :)

[_evillevi]

My problem is that I don't get burnout trying to get ahead, I'm just trying to get equal:(

[laraprudencio]

The struggles of having many different interests and also responsabilities. I feel your pain Thomas. Thank you for the tips.

[ekramhasan]

The background looks gorgeous and symmetrical

[musicjunkie]

As a new grad school student who struggles with anxiety, I've really needed this video. But I never thought it would come from Thomas - I've always thought he's this productivity ninja who just gets stuff done and doesn't overthink it.

[TaraWagner]

I think one of the most important thing to remember is that overwhelm is a symptom of our HABITS, not our TASKS. If we don't look at the patterns that led us there (boundaries, routines, bad habits, mindset, everything), we'll just wind up there again.

[superdudeman]

My brilliant advice: forget hard work and put chill as a very high priority in life. I don't envy highly successful people at all. I know I'm enjoying life a lot more overall, even if I can't show it off.

The root of the overwhelm problem is fear. You're afraid of being perceived as low status. Let go of it and you'll be happy. I promise! As a rule of thumb, when you see people desperately seeking validation on social media, you should feel sorry for them, not envious. Then you know you've made it!


This actually does not go that much against the advice of the video. You will still find motivation this way, but they'll be more natural. Things like learning to play piano for no good reason for example, like the video said.

[ItsAsparageese]

"If I continually put all my time into my business just because I feel that the force multiplier is there, just because I feel like there's more opportunity there, I'm going to burn out. I'm going to feel overwhelmed, because the desire for discovery is not going to go away. It's just going to be kind of stifled, but it's still going to be there, and it's still going to cause me stress."

There is so much depth and insight here, and I really appreciate you putting these words to this. I'm recovering from a long period of homelessness and housing insecurity, and that comes with a lot of hurdles to overcome with regard to mental health and physical/financial security, and it comes with a ton of guilt because I'm trying to build my own content empire/nonprofit career, and every minute I spend on those is essential but also feels like I should be spending my time wage-earning for immediate survival, and every minute I spend doing anything for self-care (like practicing music, or going to the rec center for a better real shower -- it even affects me eating enough because I feel compelled to spend less time and money on eating than is reasonable) is also time that carries guilt because I feel like I should be working on building my career or immediate wage-earning. It's a really intense and tough position to be in, and self-care -- specifically, feeding that desire for discovery, spending time studying for the CLEP tests I need to take if I'll ever be able to get back to school, spending time practicing music so I at least don't lose any more skill than I've already lost -- is one of the first things to fall by the wayside when the guilt and overwhelm take over. But it's so critical to make that time, otherwise I stop functioning at any-of-the-above at all, and I struggle to defend that reality and act on it appropriately.

That got more in-depth than I expected and you'll probably never see it, but thanks for the content you make, because it really affects me deeply. Thanks for creating material that is focused on universal human experiences and never being tone-deaf to the way these things impact poorer classes of people. I really get a lot from your channel and it helps me keep pushing forward through the fire.

[EdwardHazell]

key take-home:
'do a reset sprint: evaluate all systems: file organisation : physical living space and workspace, your task manager' 
'get them back to a state where they are actually useful to you.'

[PracticalInspiration]

Your point of going back to basics is so true!! Very important to do this and care for the essentials.

[floofmccloud]

Sometimes I forget that YouTubers watch other YouTubers too

[motivationcentral]

Why does this guy always upload videos that i need when I need them. I'm starting to get suspicious...🤔

[numberonedad]

feels like you're talking more slowly than in your old videos. it's actually super helpful to retaining the information you're saying, so thanks for making that effort!

[MyLifeFastForward]

My issue is that my routine is constantly sprinting. I need to create healthier habits because I don’t have healthy habits to “re-establish”. I’m just running from one thing to another and it’s exhausting.

[stutir.]

Am i the only person who feels like my life is 100% sprinting. And if I'm not sprinting it's me in bed for 3 weeks straight being depressed. No Inbetween.