In the last weeks I felt this overwhelm: everything seemed important and urgent!

I feel grateful to live in these times with many possibilities — but it’s also more challenging than ever to handle it all for one human.

I turned to old research and found some strategies that helped me in the last weeks.

Hope it can be useful for you, too!

the daily 3

choose (and write down) the three outcomes that will make today a win even if nothing else happens.

the rule forces trade-offs up front instead of later when your willpower is fried. keep the list visible—sticky note, menu bar widget, whatever.

if emotion (fear, boredom) is the blocker, label it — “this feels overwhelming because…” — then take the smallest concrete step.

chunk by attention, not time

60-minute deep-work blocks for cognitively heavy tasks.

25-minute sprints for medium tasks.

5-minute micro-bursts to get started next action items when you feel stuck.

create a “not this week” list

every commitment you postpone on purpose lightens mental load. move the item to this list, set a revisit date, and let it leave your head. it’s a kindness to future-you.

system hygiene

• weekly review to clear “open loops” and refill the daily-3 pipeline.

• single capture inbox (digital or analog) so tasks live in one place.

• archive or delete aggressively, search beats elaborate folders.

energy & body checks

sleep, food, movement—yes, everyone says this, but cognitive bandwidth is physiological currency. protect it like your laptop battery: dim background apps, close tabs (literal and mental), recharge before 0%!