I’m feeling overwhelmed about writing blog posts, so I’ve decided to make this one about dealing with overwhelm. I know a few things about it, which I often share with clients, so today I’m going to share them with you.
Here’s how this particular overwhelm stops me in my tracks:
There are so many options, so many ideas, so many things I could write. They all crowd in at once, start talking over each other and merge into a cacophony of unintelligible voices.
Even when I’ve focused in on a potential topic – in this case, overwhelm – it can easily get out of hand. There are so many things I could write about that (not to mention all the other topics I could write about), and I get paralysed by it.
I can’t even begin to get any of it down in writing. The task starts to take on monstrous proportions in my head, so of course I procrastinate instead.
Here’s what might be going on…
Cognitive processing (and neurodivergence)
‘Bottom up’ processing is where our cognitive process starts with sensory stimulus, which can be stimuli in our external environment, or internally generated stimuli, like thoughts and ideas. Here we are directly experiencing the input, before we organise it into a more coherent perception or concept.
‘Top down’ processing is where we start with a framework of our prior experience and expectations in order to filter the sensory stimulus. We start with a preconception, and interpret sensory data using contextual clues and existing knowledge.
These two types of processing are complementary, but sometimes neurodivergence can make it glitchy.
For example, autistic people can rely more on bottom-up processing, becoming overwhelmed by sensory input and not being able to pull back and get a sense of the bigger picture. Because of having heightened neural connectivity, it can be hard to filter out irrelevant information.
There are ADHD-ish challenges around top-down processing too. For example, a high level of cognitive impulsivity means it’s hard not to follow every little thought or idea, never quite developing any of them far enough to put into writing.
It’s easy to enjoy the instant fascination or potential of a new idea – ooh, so many interesting things to explore here! But the subsequent development and explanation can bring you crashing back down to earth. More fun to just move onto the next impulse, but this ends in frustration because none of them ever turn into a post!
Executive functioning challenges come in here too, where processes like prioritisation and organisation can be tricky. Trying to decide which ideas to start with, and how to sequence different elements within a post can feel impossible when faced with a bit of a chaotic jumble of possibilities.
And, of course, neurodivergent brains are also brilliant at this stuff. It’s not all trickiness and challenge; autistic people can have amazing capacity for getting into the details and going deep on research, and ADHD can be hugely useful for generating an abundance of ideas if the topic is of interest.
So given all of that – and that I’m experiencing all of those right now – how am I going to get this blog written?
Well at this point I’d rather just go and grab a snack or check my emails… but let’s keep going.
Three things that might help you to move through the overwhelm:
1. Check in with your motivation
In my case, there’s no doubt it would be easier to just not do the writing. It’s not life or death, it won’t bring any instant rewards, so why bother?
Well, I actually want to write. I love-hate it, but I genuinely get frustrated in the long-run if I don’t have an outlet. I love sharing articles and ideas with my coaching clients, and it’s a good way for people to get to know me if we’ve not yet met.
If you can establish an intrinsic motivation for a challenging task, it helps overcome the resistance to following through. If I don’t have this fresh in my mind, I just see the writing as a demand that I want to avoid at all costs.
Make your motivation visible, write it up on a post-it or whiteboard, or write a list of all the reasons you want to do the thing, so that it’s fresh in your mind.
2. Break it down (yes, that old chestnut)
It’s common to think that we can just saunter into a complex task and ‘get it done’. But there are actually distinct phases that require quite different cognitive processes.
In this case, choosing a topic, deciding what content to include, sequencing it, and writing are all separate things. The tendency (especially for neurodivergent people, for whom it is also least effective as a strategy), is to bowl in and mush all of these things together.
Separate them out, and approach one thing at a time.
Particularly notice the difference between planning, decision-making and executing, because you may need completely different conditions for each of them.
3. Give yourself the best chance of success
I know that I can generate blog ideas any time of day, even when I’m tired or sitting in a bustling cafe. But I can’t even begin to write an article unless I am well slept, in a totally quiet environment and have had a coffee. So if I try to do both these tasks at the same time, I’ll just end up staring into space and opting out.
What’s going to work for YOU and your brain?
Find the right format for you. You might assume that you should just be able to sit in front of a document and bash out a blog post. I certainly used to beat myself up for not finding things more straightforward.
One of the gifts of understanding my neurodiversity has been self-compassion.. I understand that certain things are extra hard or take me a long time, and I can now find creative ways to support myself through it (rather than being impatient and putting myself down).
What approach could work for you (and can you make it happen)?
Some ideas:
- Dictating a list or content (even if it’s a very rough draft) into a voice note rather than trying to write.
- Asking for help – perhaps talking through your blocks on a task with a friend so you can get over the first hurdle.
- Noticing when you’ve reached overload, and giving yourself a break.
- Rewarding yourself for small steps, rather than trying to punish yourself into action.
I’m lucky enough that I have support in my coaching practice through Access to Work, which means I can talk through this kind of task with my assistant. By talking through my ideas with her, I can sift through the chaos of my thoughts. She asks me questions about the points I want to include, which stops me going down all the rabbit holes without getting any of them into a coherent order.
Getting tricky tasks started
These steps can work with tricky tasks:
- Find the easiest first step and acknowledge that it’s a task in its own right.
- Plan a time for it – e.g. setting 10 minutes to come up with ideas.
- Break down the complex process into a number of tasks, and notice what the potential obstacles are.
- Recognise which bit is hardest for you, and why.
- Get support from someone in the form of structure or accountability.
- Make it easier for yourself using visual reminders, timers and rewards.
Next time you have a tricky task to complete, maybe give one of these a try (along with not giving yourself a hard time, if you can) and see whether it helps you take the first step.
