Strategies to Conquer Overwhelm

In this episode of the Franklin Planner podcast, host George Wright III and guest John Harding, Franklin Planner expert, address the growing issue of overwhelm in today’s fast-paced world. They explore the underlying causes, such as lack of clarity, overcommitment, and digital distractions, and offer actionable solutions to tackle this pervasive problem. Key strategies discussed include defining priorities, using daily and weekly planning effectively, and the benefits of handwriting over digital tools. The conversation also delves into principles from Stephen Covey’s ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,’ emphasizing the importance of proactivity, goal setting, and focusing on what truly matters. This episode aims to equip listeners with the tools and insights needed to take control of their lives and lead their teams more effectively.

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Episode Timeline

01:03        Understanding Overwhelm: Causes and Effects

06:07        Addressing Overwhelm: Strategies and Solutions

06:45       The Power of the Franklin Planner

19:39        The Importance of Handwriting & Paper Planning

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Episode Transcript

FPP Episode 2 – Strategies to Conquer Overwhelm

[00:00:00]

George Wright III: Welcome to the Franklin Planner podcast. I’m your host, George Wright III, and this is the podcast where we give you the strategies, tools, and resources to lead your team and create your best life. And today’s episode is all about conquering overwhelm, because let’s face it: we’re all juggling more than ever before. So joining me is none other than John Harding, owner, board member, and Franklin Planner expert. John, how are you doing today?

John Harding: George, I’m doing great. Great to be with you. I’m excited to dig into this one today.

George: Yeah, me too, I couldn’t agree with you more. And, you know, John’s here to help us unlock the power of planning, journaling, and focusing on what really matters most, [00:01:00] so let’s kind of get started here. John, let’s start with the problem. Overwhelm seems like the new normal for most of us, right? So between endless to-do lists, constant notifications, and competing priorities, it feels like we’re barely keeping our head above water. So what’s really driving this whole sense of overwhelm right now?

Defining Overwhelm

John: Let me give you a little background. I thought as we were planning this today that I’d just go and give you some definitions, so— When you hear that term, you may know it, but many people don’t—they might think “overwhelming”—but let me give you some definition. The term “overwhelm” refers to a state of being emotionally, mentally, physically, and otherwise overcome by an excessive amount of stimuli, tasks, challenges, and it feels really impossible to manage. It often results in feelings of helplessness, stress, and anxiety. [00:02:00] That’s a pretty heavy load, isn’t it?

George: Oh, yeah. Yeah. And that’s what most people are feeling, is that heaviness, right?

What Causes Overwhelm?

John: Yeah. Now, I’m gonna just give you two more and then look it up and we can talk about it again because as we come back in the podcast, this is sort of a, almost an umbrella of a condition that we’re all facing, no matter where we live on this earth. And so it’s worth looking into, but there’s really an emotional aspect to it, there’s a physical aspect, and there’s a lot to it. Overwhelm is a pervasive kind of problem. It’s driven by three major factors, in most cases.

Lack of clarity, overcommitment, and digital distractions

First is a lack of clarity, so people don’t have a clear sense of what truly matters to them and who matters to them. Second is a sense of overcommitment. We—at least in our Western society—we live in a culture where we’re used to saying yes, and it could be at work, it could be at home, it could be in the community, [00:03:00] and so we get ourselves into a lot going on in our lives. And the third is a huge thing that, maybe, the last twenty years has come about, but it’s the constant barrage of digital stimuli, over-amount of information, and decisions. So those would be three major reasons this is—

George: Yeah, I mean, I think most can relate to all of those things because, you know, lack of clarity definitely is gonna make people feel overwhelmed, and I know for a fact, most of the entrepreneurs that I talk to, especially leaders, even—they’re overcommitting, they’re spending way too much time on things maybe they shouldn’t be doing that aren’t important, maybe not even urgent, but not even important—but the distractions as well.

How to Prevent Overwhelm

But it sounds like, to me, you’re saying—and, you know, in our conversations we’ve talked about this—it’s not just—the solution isn’t just in managing your time. It’s gotta be [00:04:00] more about, “What are your priorities?” “What is your focus?” You know, “How do you create that clarity?” So how do you address that?

Manage your priorities

John: No, you’re right. So it is, it’s about managing your priorities and, as you said, your focus. It’s—in a way, it’s not just a scheduling thing, right? It’s knowing where you’re headed and how to get there. Here’s some of the digital damage— I just want to go a little deeper on this, and then let’s get into some solutions. The decision-making overload, if you study the brain and what’s happening, we have so many decisions we’re making because of the digital technology.

You think about it, that digital technology, as powerful as it is for good things, it really has no respect for your priorities. It wants your attention now, so it’s designed to do that. That increases stress level. That stress level of making the decisions, of determining what’s truth, what isn’t, [00:05:00] drains your energy. So decisions, stress, and energy just kind of build up. And if I were to have gone further in that definition that I just pulled up on my phone, it’s interesting; if you look at the root of “overwhelm” and the definition, it’s a sense of being under, almost like you’re underwater.

George: Yeah.

John: And you can’t get up. So that’s what we’re coming after today, to see—can we understand what’s going on, and what can we do about it?

Be intentional with your decisions

George: I’m glad you mentioned that, because I think most people need to understand that you’ve gotta understand—you’ve gotta really dissect the problem before you can find a solution. So we’ve kinda talked about the fact that what causes overwhelm is this lack of clarity, committing too much, all the digital distractions. But what people are dealing with is overload—decision overload—and I agree, [00:06:00] it completely saps your energy. So it’s not just about time management; it’s about being intentional. So let’s kinda shift gears and go into the solution that you and I have kinda talked about; this is this idea of, you know, aligning your life with what matters.

The Power of the Franklin Planner

So, help talk about that for a minute, and also, if you wouldn’t mind maybe even tying that in to how does the Franklin Planner help someone to deal with overwhelm to create clarity and focus? Because having a tool or a resource does actually give you kind of a crutch, a little bit of a little extra to help you. So can you wrap that stuff together and give us some ideas: what do we do to deal with this overwhelm?

John: Yeah, no, I’d love to, and think of this: the Franklin Planner, you know, started by Hyrum Smith and greatly strengthened as well by Stephen Covey, is kind of a forty-year, fifteen-million-people thing. So I kind of want to [00:07:00] give you a summary from those people that work, you know, on their individual lives, as well as what they would say in their corporate lives too, where they’re—

George: Well, and John—John, as a reminder, just so people understand, the reason we set this podcast up is, we want to give you tools, but we also— there are timeless principles you can tie together. So I really appreciate you saying that, because, if you can kinda walk us through those steps and those principles as well as the tool, that would be awesome.

Decide what matters most to you

John: Right. Well, thank you. So think of a mindset and think of a set of strategies and then some tools in the Franklin Planner system, but let me just speak to the actions as to where people have broken true and dealt with overwhelm. And the first is to truly define who matters to you and what matters to you. Often we hear this stated in—and these might feel like a little bit of a corporate word or a company or a team—[00:08:00] vision, mission, values, and goals. You could also just say, hey, who do you want to be and where do you want to go? So think of number one as being very clear about who you want to be, what life you want to create, what you want your team to do if you’re a leader.

More than a calendar

Second—this is interesting—so think of daily and weekly actions that you can do to deal with overwhelm and to create and accomplish your life. And this is interesting, I think, as a planner and journal company with all this experience: some people have said, “Hey, I do calendaring on my phone.” And at times, I think we and others in this industry might have said, “Hey, it’s more than just a calendar,” but I wanna just hold on for a second, on the second point of the day, of the week, of the month, of the year. A calendar, [00:09:00] and the way our lives are lived with day and night and week, is this unbelievable structure that is so powerful of how to organize your life and your goals and how to step out at line upon line. So I just want to say, the second point is to structure your goals around that first point: who you want to be and where you want to go.

Handwritten planning boosts your brain

And the third point is really kind of a breakthrough in technology, and I’m going to do a little bit of a twist on this for you: handwriting, using paper, writing with your hand, will show—the research is dramatic—that it’s a boost to the brain and it taps into the greatness, the intelligence within us and really kind of pushes away all the interruptions and lets us do deep work. So, know who you are, take each day and week very intentionally, [00:10:00] and write down, think about, and draw on the inspiration within you.

George: Yeah, that’s a great foundation. I actually— the more you and I have talked over the, you know, the last year or so, it’s something that I’ve brought into my day-to-day because I’ve recognized that I might be prioritizing my day and managing my time, but the more that I start my day, week, year—especially going into the end of the year—with who matters most, what matters most, and then take that into my daily/weekly planning, but still incorporate the handwritten, you know, engaging the brain type deal, because I think most people are on autopilot, you know? So that definitely creates this sense of being intentional. So now, how does the, like, the principles that Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits fit into this, and how do those get added to this foundation that you’ve set up to help us deal with the overwhelm?

The 7 Habits and Overwhelm

John: That’s an interesting [00:11:00] question. You know, when you say Stephen Covey, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, he— if you read his book, which is, like, number one bestseller worldwide, on how to really—it’s about powerful lessons in personal change to grow and to be effective. But he spends so much time before he ever introduces the 7 Habits setting up, you know, really taking charge of your life and tapping into or using self-evident principles to guide your life. So, keep that in mind. I’d like— So, all 7 Habits are just so effectively lived through the use of the Franklin Planner and journal system. Remember that, it’s a mindset, it’s a set of strategies, it’s actually almost a momentum when you use the planner.

Work toward a “Private Victory”

With that in mind, I just— because of time, let me just highlight the first three. [00:12:00] And this is what Dr. Covey calls the Private Victory, really mastering yourself. And it’s about a maturity continuum that goes from being dependent to independent to interdependent as you advance in, you know, knowing where you’re headed and then working well with others.

George: Well, and I’ll just interject—

John: Do it.

George: This goes—well, if you’re listening to this, this goes straight to your personal sense of overwhelm, right? If you’re overwhelmed, your Private Victory is where you need to start. So I love that you’re going to do that. So yeah, let’s cover those first three habits.

The first three habits

John: Right, and we’re kind of keeping in mind today, like, what problem are we attacking or what set of problems? So you have this sense that you’re being overwhelmed or being pushed down and under, and when you break through to daylight—and just oxygen, right, if you’re underwater—this, these habits. So Habit 1, Be Proactive, which is to [00:13:00] truly take responsibility for your actions and your life. You can do it, you have that power. Habit 2, Begin with the End in Mind, which is to define who you are, where you want to go, what your goals are. And Habit 3 is to Put First Things First. And this is focusing on what is important and minimizing but still effectively dealing with what is urgent.

You have control over your life

George: I actually like the order of those as well, because what people need to understand is, you are the one who creates your life, and you have to take that responsibility. So many people are saying, “Ah, I have no control over everything.” Well, your personal victory, your personal life, you do. If you take responsibility, you define your vision and goals, and then you put the first things first, you can really start to crush your goals.

The Power of Visualization: Michael Phelps

In fact, it reminds me of, you know, we were talking about it before the show, Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, right? He won twenty-eight Olympic medals, [00:14:00] twenty-three of them, you know, gold, and just dominated the 2008 Beijing Games by winning, you know, eight gold medals there, breaking records and all kinds of things. But I remember something about him saying he used visualization and goal setting to achieve his success. Could you—is that true? I mean, did you hear that same thing? What do you know about that?

John: Yeah, absolutely. I think his story is amazing. You know, you can— those people listening and we individually can think of great people in our family, and maybe even times when we’ve been those great people, but Michael Phelps is amazing because he really did break down his goals. He had a vision. Just what this formula is in terms of principles—and then, you know, we’re all about the power of the Franklin Planner to help us—but if you just looked at the principles, knowing where you’re going, and then very regularly visualizing that, seeing that, writing it down, then [00:15:00] practicing, working hard towards that, and it’s amazing how liberating that is.

Be proactive to achieve your goals

I would say this as I think about Michael Phelps, I mean, oh my gosh, who has that many medals? I don’t know of anyone, and so he achieved this goal, right, and this world standard. And I think it’s fascinating, because as you evaluate what matters to you and who matters to you, you can do the equivalent that’s probably even much more important than a gold medal. In your life is gold, gold, gold by, you know, just taking charge, making it a priority, and also using the tool of writing and reviewing daily to draw out the greatness in you. There really is brilliance in each of us and greatness, so that’s kind of part of this, is to—you know, how can you draw that out? How can you [00:16:00] self-coach yourself, you know, to really achieve your full potential? But I like the story of Michael Phelps.

Achieve Private Victories with a Franklin Planner

George: Well, and let’s be honest, you know, you can— We all do the same thing at the beginning of the year, at the beginning of the week: we start with these great intentions, and then everything pulls us every direction, we get overwhelmed. And so, I think it’s super important, and the reason we’ve spent so much time on it, that when you apply foundational principles and you use a powerful tool like the Franklin Planner, it helps you to overcome all of this external influence so that you can really get your Private Victories.

Create success by staying focused

And look, when we’re talking about your best life, your best life is going to be when you feel you’re creating success, you’re driving your priorities, you’re focused on what matters. So that’s—just like Michael Phelps, right? Like, he—I guarantee he did exactly what he needed to do, wanted to do, was intending [00:17:00] to do, and when you do that—and it helps to have these principles and foundation—you create success. I think that intentionality is the key to unlocking your best life. Wouldn’t you agree?

Research shows goal setting leads to success

John: I agree. And I think, too, as we’re talking about this—and we’ll dig deeper in the next podcast on goal setting—I think you’ll be blown away and our listeners will, too, as you realize, wow, not that many people become very intentional and set goals and define. And yet the research is, people are multiple times more successful if they do. Ten times, even more. But let me also mention, we’ve been talking here about something that is so huge individually. It’s also equally relevant as a leader or as a team member or as, you know, a startup business or as a [00:18:00] huge company. The power of these same principles and the tool of the Franklin Planner system, or the system that includes the tools within it, the same principles apply, only it applies at scale.

And so you imagine a team that’s unified, that knows where they are, their Private Victory, but then also is very clear about the purpose of the team. And on a daily, weekly basis, they’re writing down, they’re drawing on the brilliance of each other, and they’re unified. And that’s really, in this forty years, much of the way that we were able to help individuals came through an organizational setting where leaders said, “We want to climb this mountain, and we need to work together.” So just think: powerful in both settings. And most of us, you know, travel in and out of both settings on a daily basis.

Prioritizing is key

George: Well, most of us spend most of our life in the [00:19:00] team. So, at the end of the day, you can have as many Private Victories as you want, but if you don’t apply those principles—but you’re right, they apply in both. And it’s like anything else. I’ve said it many times, you know, on my podcast. It’s, you know: how you do anything is how you do everything. So if you are an intentional person and you always prioritize—you know, when you try to, at least—prioritize what’s most important, who’s most important, you have a foundation, you’ve got some tools to guide you, that’s going to extend into your business as well.

Paper Planning versus Digital Planning

So listen, John, I know we don’t have a lot of time, but there’s one topic that I really wanted to dig into for a second, because I’ve often wondered this, and I know you said the research supports it, but I want to just talk for a second about this idea of why use paper, planner system, journaling, versus digital. Because if you’re trying to be more productive—and we’ve already talked about digital as part of your overwhelm, and so we know that’s part of the problem—[00:20:00] help someone listening to this to understand a little bit more as to why you are saying and science is saying that you’ve got to incorporate this idea of pen and paper. Does that make sense? I mean, could you kind of address that for a minute?

What people get wrong about digital planning

John: I will, and as I do, think of this: a lot of that came about as you went from one technology to another. You know, as digital technology came along, people kind of left the paper. Now, some of our generations that are well into our workplace now never really saw paper planner or how we did that. But think of that for a minute. And the— I think the stated benefit in many cases was, “Hey, it’s so fast. I don’t need to do this, I don’t need to do that.” And I want to just say one thing before I dig into the, you know, the paper versus digital. People would say, “Hey, I don’t have time to plan.” And the fact is, [00:21:00] planning doesn’t take time. It saves time. I mean, it saves—

George: I agree. I agree with you. Well, and John, I want to just mention one other thing. I’ve always thought, and I know a lot of people think, the reason I use digital is it’s—I put it in there and I won’t lose it. It’s out of sight, out of mind, but it happens. But the problem with “out of sight, out of mind” is you’re not being intentional, number one. And number two, when you take stuff off your plate, other stuff just fills in on it. So you’re actually not being—you’re getting more overwhelmed. So, I think you’re a hundred percent right on that. So yeah, let’s— Tell me your thoughts on the ideas behind using paper, journal, and planner.

John: Right. Let’s just dig into this. Think of this as for paper versus digital, research shows that handwriting and using paper, putting pen to paper, engages the brain in unique ways. [00:22:00] And so you think of the incredible potential within each of us. A lot of that comes from our heart, our inspiration, and through our brain. And if you want to be immediately smarter, make sure that writing down, meditating, planning, and seeking inspiration about who you want to be, what you want to do to help others. So, here’s a quick list—and as you might imagine, in another podcast, we’ll dig deep on this.

Paper planning improves memory, creativity, and achievement

These are powerful. Number one, it improves memory and retention. Two, it boosts creativity. It reduces stress, and it increases goal achievement. Now, there’s quite a bit about the chemicals in the brain and the systems within the brain and how they work. That taps into deeper thought, more creative thought. Um, but, this is a quick list. [00:23:00] Paper planners don’t distract you like digital notifications. Yeah. And also, a cool one that sometimes we say, you know, as you think about your identity potentially being stolen, or whatever happens through technology, the planner cannot be hacked. [Laughter] Anyways, kind of a cool—

George: No, I think that’s good. I mean, obviously, yeah, that’s a safety protocol, right? But I think that it is important for people to really hear us when we say, science has proven; I mean, these are real facts that improve memory, creativity, reduce stress, you know, increase goal achievement. That’s all real stuff. And that’s pretty powerful for leaders too, right? Because having this idea of written commitments and things like that, that builds trust and accountability, doesn’t it?

Writing your goals down helps you achieve them faster

John: It does. And when, you know, when you can write it down, in essence, you’re doing what Ed Batista at Stanford has done a course on, and a lot of studies. [00:24:00] You’re doing self-coaching. You have the ability to stand back, to write down, to think about it, and then improve it. There’s another thing that happens that we will give you more stats on in the goal-setting podcast, but when you write a goal down and you put that in writing, your brain actually immediately begins to solve for that, immediately begins to find and use resources for how to bring about that inspired goal that it also helped you come up with. There’s just a lot there. So much that you can’t do any other way.

George: Well, and you can’t multitask when you’re writing, so if for no other reason than it creates a focus for you in your mind, I think that’s a pretty powerful thing to talk about.

Key Takeaways

So, all right. So we’re kind of running out of time here, so let’s kind of do a few takeaways. We’ve learned a little bit about what causes the overwhelm. [00:25:00] We’ve got some foundation and principles and tools to be able to help people deal with overwhelm. Obviously, the biggest strategy we could talk about is this idea of, you know, writing. But if you could leave our listeners with any, like, main key takeaway, what would it be?

The Franklin Planner anchors you

John: I would say to take control of your life and to hit this, you know, this environment we live in, of overwhelm, head-on. And as you do it, I think what you’ll feel—there’s nothing quite as inspiring, quite as energizing, as really dreaming about who you can be and what you can do to help and be with those that matter most to you. And so whether you’re an individual kind of thinking just personally about that Private Victory or whether you’re a leader of teams, you have the ability to not only tap into the greatness in you, but also, you know, to scale that, to tap into the greatness of those around you. And really, you know, the Franklin Planner is meant to be [00:26:00] a powerful system to anchor you in that and really to enable you to lead your life and create your greatest team and life.

George: Yes, yes, thank you, John, I appreciate that. And I think people will realize that when they incorporate this into their daily rituals, their daily life, they won’t have to think about it. It’ll be a system that they’ll be able to just follow and grow with. And so, yeah—to our listeners, I’d love to invite you to check out franklinplanner.com to find the tools that you can use, fit your needs, to create your best life.

And, you know, also, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, make sure that you, you know, smash that subscribe and share button. Don’t miss any of our episodes. Leave us a review. We want to hear from you. We want to know what you’re working on and what your challenges are. And remember that, you know, your path to clarity and overcoming the sense of overwhelm, it all starts with a single step. And hopefully we’ve given you some ideas to inspire and motivate [00:27:00] you to do that. So once again, appreciate you being with us. Have an amazing day, and we’ll talk with you on the next episode.

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Resources & Links

1. Franklin Planner
   • FranklinPlanner.com – A tool to help implement the principles discussed in the post.
   • Franklin Planner Blog – A resource hub for time management tips and productivity strategies.
2. Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits
   • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey – Learn more about Stephen Covey’s framework for personal and professional effectiveness.
   • Stephen Covey’s Official Site – The official site offering resources and insights into the 7 habits.
3. Michael Phelps and Goal Setting
   • Michael Phelps’ Official Site – Learn about the athlete’s foundation and his journey.
4. Goal Setting & Visualization
   • Goal Setting With A Purpose
   • Franklin Planner’s Digital Planner
5. Mindset & Personal Growth
   • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck – A book on how mindset influences personal growth and success.
   • The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale – A classic on the impact of mindset in achieving success.