When Everything Feels Like Too Much
Leia em 🇧🇷Português aqui
If you’ve ever stood in the middle of your home, looking around at the dishes, laundry, toys, unpacked boxes, or endless to-dos — and felt completely frozen — you’re not alone. Or perhaps you’ve been at work, where your computer never seems to rest, a dozen open tabs are waiting for your attention, and pages of unread emails linger on your screen, multiplying by the minute.
Overwhelm doesn’t just make life harder; it can shut us down.
I remember a season of my life when my kids were very little - my daughter was four, my son just six months - and I was navigating a recent move and family challenges. Every corner of the house seemed to demand my attention, yet simply starting felt impossible. I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t unmotivated. I was exhausted, stretched thin, and paralyzed by the weight of everything that needed to be done while keeping two tiny humans alive.
One day, standing in front of a sink full of dishes, I created a strategy that saved my sanity.
I called it my “Rule of 5.”
I told myself:
Just do five things. Five dishes. Five minutes. Five steps forward. Then pause.
I picked up one plate and counted out loud.
One… two… three…
When I hit five, I stopped. I took a breath. I changed a diaper. I built Legos with my daughter. I reset.
Then I came back and did five more.
And you know what happened?
Those tiny bursts of progress gave me a small but real hit of dopamine - the brain’s reward chemical that boosts motivation and energy. Each “5” completed made me think, Okay, I can handle this. Small wins create momentum.
Over time, that little strategy carried me through some of my hardest days.
Here are five ways to cope when you’re overwhelmed by too many tasks, including the Rule of 5 that changed everything for me.
The Rule of 5: shrink the task until it becomes doable
When your brain is overwhelmed, it’s not refusing to cooperate: it’s overloaded. Breaking tasks into tiny, ultra-manageable pieces helps you bypass that mental freeze.
Try:
Wash 5 dishes
Sort 5 pieces of laundry
Organize 5 items on a shelf
Spend 5 minutes on one task
Tidy a space for 5 breaths
Then stop.
Take a short break. Do something else. Move your body. Drink water.
A small start is still a start, and it wakes up the reward center of your brain.
That tiny dopamine boost helps you feel a little more capable, and makes the next “5” easier.
Name what actually matters today
When everything feels urgent, nothing feels doable.
Write down everything that’s on your mind, a “brain dump.” Then circle only the things that truly need attention today.
Usually, the list shrinks dramatically.
This helps:
Reduce cognitive load
Replace that vague pressure (“so much to do!”) with clarity
Stop the guilt spiral
Give you permission to let the rest wait
Overwhelm thrives in the unspoken. Naming the priorities breaks its power.
Switch to “one-touch tasks”
If you pick something up, decide right away:
Put it where it belongs
Throw it away
Or take the next necessary step
This prevents energy-draining loops like carrying the same laundry basket around three times or opening the same email over and over without taking any action.
“One-touch” thinking builds a sense of efficiency without requiring extra effort.
Anchor tasks to natural breaks in your day
One of the simplest ways to cope with overwhelm is to attach small tasks to the natural transitions that already happen throughout your day. Instead of looking for a big block of time (which often doesn’t exist when life is full), you weave tiny moments of progress into the flow of your routine.
These “micro-anchors” help you maintain momentum without adding pressure.
After making your morning coffee: clear or wipe one small area.
When you finish a meal: rinse or put away a few dishes.
After answering an email: send one follow-up message or archive a few old ones.
When you return from lunch or a break: tidy your workspace for a few minutes or prioritize your next 1–2 actions.
Celebrate every tiny win (your brain needs it)
Every time you finish a “5,” complete a small action, or move something forward, pause and acknowledge it.
This isn’t self-indulgent: it’s neuroscience.
Celebration elevates dopamine and reinforces the behavior, making it easier to repeat. Your brain learns:
“I do small things. Small things help me feel better. I can handle this.”
You don’t need confetti or a parade.
Sometimes the celebration is as simple as saying to yourself:
I did that.
That was enough.
I’m moving forward.
Tiny wins compound.
If you’re overwhelmed right now, it does not mean you’re failing. It does not mean you’re weak or disorganized. It simply means your stress load is outpacing your capacity at this moment, and that is human.
Start small.
Start tiny.
Start with five.
You deserve compassion, space, and tools that meet you where you are — not where the world expects you to be. Reach out; you don’t have to do it alone.
