How do you deal with feeling overwhelmed?

This week's Assembly asked
"How do you deal with feeling overwhelmed?"

We've gathered the key points and notes from the session, so you can refer back for future reference, or if you weren't able to join, learn from your fellow freelancers.

Overwhelm manifests itself in many forms. From too much work, from too little work. From the steep learning curve of setting up your business, to juggling client workload and taking time for yourself - or even when you don't have much work on.

It's something all of us on the call experience, no matter how long we've been doing this, and it requires taking a step back to look at how we work, our behaviours and what we need to find the balance.

The shift in control changes what overwhelm might feel like, or how it manifests. Having more control is positive, but having more responsibility all on us can be a challenge too.

For some of us, it required us to look at the foundations, for others, it was about prioritisation, managing energy levels, or finding others who we can collaborate with to share the load, get feedback and ideas, or just have others to work along side.

We agreed there are lots of things to unlearn from employment, and having more control over our time means we can focus on the important things, but some times a lack of structure makes it a little harder, and knowing what the important things are can be a challenge too.

A todo list can help, whether you do it in the mornings, or at the end of your day.

Clarity around doing the work that's aligned to your goals or motivations helps too.

Clever multitasking can help too - do some outreach whilst you're on a walk - just make sure you don't fall into the canal.

Sharing the burden with others is incredibly valuable, whether collaborators or friends, or coworking or just fellow freelancers in a community like ours.

Being able to "make friends with uncertainty" is a skill we can all learn.

Sometimes the most valuable action is just to go for a walk or breath of fresh air, and you'll find the focus and clarity you might need, rather than trying to push on through.

But we all agreed that freelancing is a journey of self-discovery, which requires us to think about who we are, how we work, what we offer, and what we need from our way of working. And we don't need to wait until health or circumstances forces us to reflect - we can proactively take a step back and design how we want to work.

Some super useful tips from our fellows on the call Whilst everyone works in a different way, here were some brilliant suggestions that might be valuable to think about. Try doing tomorrow's todolist this evening, rather than tomorrow morning. It means you can put down your work brain at night, and you're better prepared in the morning, rather than listing out the day's anxieties! "Making friends with uncertainty" was a brilliant prompt to recognise that freelancing can be full of unseen surprises, ebbs and flows. Scheduling and structuring your day can help, but also listen to your energy levels and how much motivation you have. Switch things up if you're not feeling it. Don't risk perfection turning into avoidance. Sometimes doing somthing good enough is enough to make progress. Physical movement as a hack for finding clarity, as well as a bit of break from work. Creative approaches to multitasking like going for a walk whilst you're on a call with a client or using voice notes to say things out loud, rather than them being stuck in our heads. Taking time off is allowed (and important) too - don't feel you have to fill every moment with productivity!

Remember! Occassionaly feeling overwhelmed seems like it might be part of working for yourself, but ongoing chronic stress can lead to poorer health, or even risk you being unable to work, so taking a step back and checking in on how you're feeling is super important, and if things are getting too much, lean on others to lighten the load.