Use this Stress-Busting Tool and Never Feel Overwhelmed Again

TL;DR: You have a lot on your plate. Map it out visually, and all those little tasks become a smorgasbord of possibilities. Then you simply pick the possibility that best matches the time and energy you have available.

You already know the problem and the solution.

The problem: You’re starting a business, producing a play, moving to another country…

You’re taking on something big, you’ve never done it before, and there are a lot of moving parts.

Do you need to file legal paperwork? Hire a manager? Write a press release?

I’ve spent many restless nights thinking about the latest adventure, going over all the required tasks in my head, with no idea where to start or even how to do most of the job.

The solution: Just start. Do one thing.

But… what is the “one thing” I should do?

The “do one thing” solution works, but it can lead you down a rabbit hole. You can waste time on trivial tasks without making any forward progress. You won’t even feel closer to your goal.

There’s a better way.

About seven years ago, I was writing copy for a successful REALTOR who had a cryptic diagram on the wall of his office.

I asked him about it, and this became the Circular Outline. It’s is one of the most overlooked lessons in my Changing the WIND course.

The Circular Outline: Your Visual Coach

The Circular Outline is like having a talented coach who helps you figure out exactly what to do each day based on the right sequence of actions, the time you have, and your energy levels.

Everything you need to do is laid out visually right in front of you. You can tap into the natural mapping skills of the human brain to

This tool immediately stops the sense of overwhelm and helps you feel in control of everything.

This has been such a useful tool for me that I’m giving it to you in three ways.

If you want to dive right into it, just keep reading.

If you want to visually see what a circular map looks like, here’s the video lesson from Changing the WIND.

Or you can skip down to the Tool of the Week if you just want the bare step-by-step.

Make a “stress list”

Write down every task or project that requires a significant chunk of your time, energy, or cognitive bandwidth.

Some of these might be broad, sweeping projects like, “next year’s marketing plan” and others could be concise tasks such as, “Create a new Instagram account.”

Keep writing them all down, big or small, until you run out of tasks. At this point, every source of stress, at least in your professional and creative life, is trapped in the list.

Set the list aside for a while before you do the next step.

Find the big projects

When you’re ready to revisit the list, go through it and find the biggest, broadest items. Here are a few useful criteria:

· It involves many smaller tasks

· You can’t do it by yourself in a single day

· It requires outside purchases, vendors, or other third parties

· When you finish it, you will feel a strong sense of relief and accomplishment

· Completing this will make a significant change in your work and/or your life

Give each big project its own page

Get a sheet of paper or a section of whiteboard for each big project. You could open a new file, but that’s harder, as you’ll see in a minute.

The bigger the project, the more space you're going to want.

(The REALTOR I worked with had one of those giant Post-its for each of his projects.) 

Assign big jobs to each project page

Go back to your stress list and find the big jobs that you need to complete in order to finish the project. If you want to write a book, some jobs might be to research publishing options, market the book, cover and book design, creating time and space to write, etc.

Draw a circle on your project page for each of these big tasks. Leave plenty of space between circles. Then write one of the tasks inside each circle.

Add the smaller tasks to the list

Now it’s time to go through the stress list and find the little, specific tasks that will complete each job.

If the job is to market the book, individual tasks might include:

· Send review copies to influencers

· Create 10 social media posts to promote the book

· Invite members of my network to join the launch club

· Write 5 emails to pre-sell the book

· Post 3 cover designs and ask followers to vote for their favorite

Assign each task to one of the circles with a job in it. Draw a short line from the circle, and write one task on that line.

When you finish, you'll have every detail down on paper. Every little task will be connected to a larger job.

If you thought of new tasks and jobs as you worked on your outline, you now have those written down in just the right place, too.

Let's look at how to use your circular outline to save time and avoid stress. 

Use your circular outline

Every day, you simply choose the project or projects you want to work on, and you take out the relevant project page.

You’ll see lots of individual tasks tied to each job. When you finish all the tasks connected to a job, that job is finished. When you finish all the jobs on a project page, your project will be completed, and your life will never be the same again.

All you have to do is choose one task and cross it off the list. You can choose it based on urgency, the time available, even your mood.

A few guidelines will help you choose a task:

· Only do a task that you realistically have time to finish. Every day will be a small win as you cross something of the list

· Do the most creative, important, or difficult tasks when your energy levels are high

· Save the quick, simple, easy tasks for times when your cognitive bandwidth is low.

The beauty of the circular outline is that whatever you choose, it moves your project forward in a definite, concrete way.

Tool of the Week: The Circular Outline

1. Write a stress list

2. Find the big projects

3. Give each project its own Project Page

4. Break down each project into jobs

5. Break down each job into small tasks

6. Each day, do the tasks that best fit your time, energy, and resources