7 Favorite Things to Do When Life is OverWhelming

Moving this year has me feeling like a hundred layers of overwhelmed. And what do you do when you feel too overwhelmed to do anything at all??

Today I decided that sometimes the answer is to watch a Hallmark movie.

Every day has plenty of work to do. Can you ever actually run out of work to do? I don’t think I have run out of work to do in seventeen years. It has to be seventeen years, because that is about how long ago I had my first baby.

Is this just me justifying enjoying free time?

Oh well, if that is what it is, so be it.

Here are 7 things that have worked to light up my days lately. I hope some of them work for you too.

My Favorite Things to Do When Life is Overwhelming

#1. Watch t.v. shows while you do the household chores, especially laundry and dishes.

I mean I do not always do this. Sometimes I let the world be silent because sometimes what I need is silence. Lately what I need is a laugh, so t.v. has been good.

My chores probably get done even faster when I’m watching t.v. because they seem to take no time at all while I’m watching a good show.

I grab my computer, go to Amazon Prime Video, and it is the only time I get to pick! Watch the shows no one else in your family wants to watch!

For me, that means The Devil Wears Prada, historic dramas, and Hallmark movies. This is a great list of Amazon shows.

#2. Walk the dog.

That is my old trusty stand by, and it has appeared in a billion lists, so nothing new there. But the thing is it helps. Being outside is just so good for us.

Plus, you get exercise, and exercise give you endorphins. Or so they say. I feel like I’m still waiting on the endorphins to show up some days.

#3. Listen for the voice of God to direct your steps.

I feel like it is getting to be more and more taboo to talk about God, but I do not care.

One of my sons sent me this YouTube video about a pilot who passed out in the sky. The passenger on the plane had to completely depend on the voice of an air traffic controller to guide him on how to drive and land the plane. He gives the most poignant example of listening for God’s voice to guide us through life. So good! Listen to this video!!!

#4. When your list fails you, try something else. Forget the list.

My go -to in life is to make lists of what I need to do and then make my way through the list. I have to work extra hard to make myself do the undesirable things on the list. In fact, just knowing that my list has tasks I dread on it makes me avoid the whole entire list. I will render myself completely unproductive just because I don’t have the right kind of energy to do that one thing on a list.

Life is overwhelming sometimes.

This year is overwhelming for me. It is like I am tired ALL the time.

So most days lately, I cannot even make a list because the list is a joke. When I do make a list, I shudder at it and then do not look at it for the rest of the day.

That is when you have to focus on ONE main goal.

I know I am not going to do my whole list. For some reason, I can’t do it. But I can get one major thing done per day. That I can do.

No list. There’s just one thing at a time to focus on.

That Anna song in Frozen 2 resonated with me. “Just do the next right thing.”

#5. When you listen for God’s voice, actually do what He says.

If you do not already have a relationship with God, this one might be hard to do. It is a simple prayer though.

“God, what do I do next?”

And then you listen with your spirit, with your mind, and with your heart, and you do what he says.

Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth of many wicked;
¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,
    and their inheritance will endure forever.
¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

~Psalm 37: 16-19

#6. Use the energy that you do have.

The fact is we may not have the energy to make phone calls, but we do have the energy to work on a project. So do the project.

Other times, you may not have the energy to do the project, but you have the energy to do some cooking and dishes. So do the cooking and dishes.

Use the energy you have at the time. It makes you more productive.

#7. Do something you actually get excited about doing. Have fun!

For me that is reading, or playing Township on my phone, or touring DC. You might prefer drawing, or calling a friend, or going for a run. But doing fun things is oddly important in life. The older I get, the more firmly I believe that.