Feeling overwhelmed? You don't have to sort out all of it today.

Everything is asking for you at once. Work, messages, the house, other people. Each thing on its own would be fine. Together they're a wall, and you're standing in front of it doing nothing, which makes it worse.

Your head keeps running the list. You start one thing, remember another, switch, and end the day with ten things half-touched and none finished.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and anxious right now, start with the step below. It takes two minutes and needs a pen.

Why feeling overwhelmed freezes you

How much there is matters less than how much is open at once. Every unfinished thing keeps a small claim on your attention. Psychologists E. J. Masicampo and Roy Baumeister found that unfinished goals kept popping into people's minds while they worked on something else. In their studies, making a specific plan for a goal quieted that, even before the goal was done (Masicampo & Baumeister, 2011).

That's why a list on paper can help before you've finished anything. The things stop circling because they have somewhere to be. And with everything open at once, there's no obvious first move, so it's easier to freeze than to choose.

What to do when you feel overwhelmed

Do the smallest visible thing first, not the most important one. Getting one thing done changes how the rest of the page looks.

Close what you can. Tabs, apps, the pile of post you aren't dealing with today. Fewer open things means fewer things tapping you on the shoulder.

If your body is wound up, slow it down before you plan. Breathe out a little longer than you breathe in, a few times. It's hard to think clearly while you're bracing.

Feeling overwhelmed at work, and with life

At work, overwhelm often comes from priorities that aren't yours. Every message arrives marked urgent. Pick the one thing that's yours to move today and do its first step before you open the inbox.

Feeling overwhelmed with life is wider. It's the job and the kids and the flat and the people who need you, with no clear edge between them. You don't need a plan for all of it. You need one thing you can move today, and permission to leave the rest on the page.

How StartKick helps

StartKick helps you start the things you keep putting off, including when the problem is that there are too many of them. Begin with the free 2-minute check. It shows what tends to get in your way when there's a lot going on. One of the six ways people get stuck is the Juggler: you keep a lot of plates in the air. After the check you get one small first step for a real task.

If you keep going, calming resets give you a few quiet minutes, with breathing and one-minute resets for when it all feels like a lot. The 28-day plan sizes each day's session to the time you have, and there's a coach to talk to when your head is full. The coach is software, not a person. Try it free for 3 days (card needed); after that it's $29€29£29 for your first year, then $59€59£59 a year. Or pay $7.99€7.99£7.99 a month instead, with the same free days. Cancel in one tap.