Do you ever feel overwhelmed?

Like you're trying to move forward with something but you're walking through deep, thick mud.  You have some task in front of you (like writing a blog post) and you just can't seem to get it done.

I'm just coming out of a period of time where my whole life felt that way.  I couldn't seem to keep my house clean, couldn't find the motivation to lose those extra pounds, couldn't get my paperwork in order.  Everything felt a little too overwhelming.

I was talking to a friend after I had finally started a diet and conquered one of my house projects, and she used the word momentum.  I had finally found some momentum.  Forward motion.  Progress.  I don't exactly know how it happened, but man, it felt great.

Don't get me wrong.  It's not like I've turned my life around here or anything.  I've only lost 11 pounds in 6 weeks, there are many more house projects to start,  but I have momentum.  It's kind of a feel-good word for me at the moment.  It means I'm moving forward.  It means hope.

Work can be the same way.  I start the day with piles and piles of charts in front of me.  I get overwhelmed by the sheer volume, not to mention the work each one entails.  The only way I can begin to get a handle on it is to sort, separate, rearrange, and organize.  I make stacks and label them with sticky notes.  Then I start one pile at a time, handling the fattest charts first.  I love to see the pile shrink by half simply by addressing a couple of charts.  It gives me a feeling of...momentum.

So what do you do to give yourself a little momentum when you're feeling stuck?  How do you psych yourself up to dig in?  How do you start an overwhelming project?  It may not be an everyday thing for most of us, but we each face that thick, gooey mud now and then.  And since that pile of paperwork is still sitting in my kitchen, I'd love to hear some fresh ideas!

Related: Charting, Goals, Motivation, New Nurse Tips, Organizational Skills, Prioritizing, Time