Trouble in Paradise: How I tackled overwhelm and decision fatigue
The past couple of weeks I've felt overwhelmed and exhausted.
This might sound absurd. I mean, I'm living my best life in a tropical paradise, right...?
The island life is definitely more chill and slow than then big city life. The weather is amazing. I start my Monday morning with a surf, Tuesday mornings with a social run club, Wednesday mornings in a gym with sauna and cold plunge. I barely have any daily chores - I use laundry service, my room is cleaned multiple times per week, and I eat out for most of my meals.
Yet I've been mentally and physically drained.
People even told me that I looked exhausted. I found myself paralyzed when looking at the screen and the seemingly endless list of to-dos. I stopped replying to private messages that felt too long. I burned time and energy thinking about what I should do, instead of actually doing anything.
Sounds familiar?
What helped me was to sit down and plan the week ahead in details. And I mean really in details!
I wrote down the 3 most important things I wanted to achieve I added everything to my calendar
- Firstly, the already planned meetings with my freelance clients
- Secondly, sports and recovery time
- Finally, breaking down the goals to specific actionalbe activities
These were the goals:
- Private life => Make a detailed plan and to-do for practical stuff related to visa, tax, company structure, and insurances
- Freelance work => Make solution design for two areas, and handover requirements to developers
- Side hustle => Make two SoMe posts
This was the end result:
This wasn't just about getting organized.
It was about fighting decision fatigue and provide clarity.
When you have already made all the decisions up front, you don't waste energy constantly asking yourself what to do next? Instead, you just follow the plan.
I can't tell you how much calmer I felt knowing that if I simply stick to the schedule, I'm moving closer to my goals.
Of couse life happens. Unforeseen or urgent stuff pops up and a few things were forgotten in the planning process. But, overall, my week ended up being quiet aligned with what my calendar dictated. And I definitely achieved more than the week before, and more than I dared hope for this week.
Goal setting and detailed planning is a skill, and I trust I will become better for every time I try.
Have you experienced something similar? I'd love to hear how you tackle situations like this?
Catch me here.