The hardest part about dealing with an overwhelming workload is trying to stop your mind from running in circles at 100 miles per hour. When you have a ton of work to do and so little time to do it, the pressure can cause you an incredible amount of stress. Here are some tips to help you complete your task without having to go insane.

Stop

The first thing you want to do is stop. That’s right, just stop. When you get to that point of feeling overwhelmed, it just means that you are looking at the whole picture all at once and feel like everything must be done at the same time. When this happens, you need to calm your mind by just being still for a couple of minutes and taking a deep breath.

Prioritize

The next thing you want to do is to make a plan and prioritize the things you need to do in order of importance. When you know that at a certain time, you should be doing a certain task, and only that task, you will feel more at ease because you are only focused on one thing at a time. By writing down and prioritizing your tasks, you allow yourself to look at the big picture in tiny sections at a time.

Take Controlled Action

Once you know what you have to do, get to work but instead of doing it in a rushed fashion, do it at a steady pace that you can handle. When you work too hard on the first few tasks, you risk the chance of being burnt out and not have enough energy to do the later tasks at a high level of quality.

Take a Breather

Every 60-75 minutes or so, you should take a quick 5-10 minute breather. During this time, free your mind. Don’t think of the work you still have ahead of you. Now if a certain task will take 2 hours and the following task will require you to switch gears, then just finish out the 2 hours to save time from having to restart the momentum after the break. If it’ll take longer than 2 hours, then just break it up into 60-75 minute sessions.

By doing these things, you will be able to control the situation. The only reason you will feel overwhelmed with the huge stack of work in front of you is because you are focusing on way too many things at once. The stress will eventually affect your work and your speed will slow down. By planning everything out and working at a steady pace, you will get more work done without burning out.