How to set boundaries
LISTEN IN APPLE PODCASTS | LISTEN IN SPOTIFY | LISTEN IN STITCHER
Feeling overwhelmed? You’re not alone. Before you make another plan or buy another planner, it’s time to navigate overwhelm. In this episode, time management coach Anna Dearmon Kornick shares how to recognize the five types of overwhelm — and the exact tools from the HEART Method that help you clear the fog, regain focus, and move forward with calm, clarity, and confidence.
Key Takeaways
- Discover why navigating overwhelm comes before vision-casting.
- Learn the five types of overwhelm and how to spot them.
- Match each type with a Navigator tool from the HEART Method.
- Combine tools for faster clarity when life feels chaotic.
1. Mental Clutter Overwhelm → Mind Sweep
When your brain feels like a crowded room — or a bucket of ping-pong balls bouncing in every direction — you’re in Mental Clutter Overwhelm.
That’s when it’s time for a Mind Sweep: a quick mental declutter that gets everything swirling in your head down onto paper. Once it’s out of your head, it stops bouncing around, and you can finally see what’s there.
You’ll breathe easier, think clearer, and feel lighter.
👉 For a full walkthrough, listen to Episode [X] (linked in the shownotes).
2. “Where Do I Start?” Overwhelm → Clarity Compass
Sometimes you know what you need to do — but you have so many options that you don’t know where to begin.
That’s “Where Do I Start?” Overwhelm, and the fix is the Clarity Compass.
Think of it as your internal GPS. It separates must-dos from could-dos and should-dos from want-tos so you can stop spinning and start moving forward with purpose.
When you use the Clarity Compass, you stop reacting and start directing your energy — and that’s when calm begins to creep back in.
3. “Too Many Plates” Overwhelm → Moving Projects Method
Picture yourself in a circus act — spinning plate after plate on tall sticks. At first you’re managing fine, but then someone hands you two more, and suddenly you can’t even remember how many plates there are — or where you put all of them!
That’s the moment when diluted focus leads to diluted results.
The Moving Projects Method helps you take stock of everything you’re trying to balance — and finally see it clearly, all at once.
You make a list of every project that’s currently moving, then rank, remove, reschedule, and refocus based on what really matters.
It’s clarity, permission, and perspective all in one — because it gives you space to set something down without dropping it.
4. Curveball Overwhelm → The CURVE Method
You’ve got a plan for the week … and then, boom. Curveball.
A kid gets sick, a project implodes, or your car battery dies right before the big presentation.
That’s Curveball Overwhelm.
When life goes sideways, use the CURVE Method — Control, Understand, Resource, Vital, Enlist.
It helps you regroup by focusing on what you can control, what you need to understand, what resources can help, what’s vital for you to handle now, and who you can enlist for support.
In the Academy, we like to say: Don’t panic, just CURVE.
For a full step-by-step guide, check out Episode [X] in the shownotes.
5. Invisible Labor Overwhelm → Identity Map
This is the hidden kind of overwhelm — the weight of everything you manage that no one else sees. From remembering appointments to checking in on friends, it’s all invisible labor that adds up fast.
The Identity Map makes the invisible visible. It helps you outline all of your roles — mother, manager, friend, partner, volunteer — and see where your time and energy are really going.
Sometimes, simply seeing it in black and white brings relief: No wonder I’m exhausted.
When to Combine Tools
Overwhelm doesn’t always fit neatly into one box.
Maybe your mind is cluttered and you’re unsure where to start.
That’s when the Navigator tools work beautifully together:
Start with a Mind Sweep to clear the noise, then use the Clarity Compass to find direction. Once the fog lifts, you’ll know your next right step.
Final Thoughts
When you realize you’re overwhelmed, don’t stop there — go one level deeper. Ask yourself, What kind of overwhelm am I feeling right now?
Because once you can name it, you can navigate it.
You can’t cast a clear vision when your mind is clouded with overwhelm.
But once you clear the fog, you’ll finally have the space to dream, plan, and take action toward what matters most.
Episode Links + Resources
- Apply for a Free Time Management Coaching Session
- Join the It’s About Time Academy
- Episode 90 – Because Brain Dump Sounds Gross: Meet the Mind Sweep – A Better Way to Clear Your Head Without Making a Huge Mess
- Episode 236 –How to Bounce Back When Life Throws You Curveballs: Introducing The CURVE Method
Related Episodes
- Ep. 276 – Do Something: 3 Keys to Create Consistent Habits, Even When You’re Tired, Busy, and Overwhelmed
- Ep. 260 – The Overwhelm Epidemic: What the Past can Teach Us About Work-Life Balance (And What to Do About It) ft. Jenny Powers
- Ep. 224 – Time Management Coaches Get Overwhelmed, Too: My Personal Process for Beating Overwhelm
Be the first to comment