Your brain needs time to process information it is absorbing. If you don't give it that space, it may lead to information overload where you start to feel overwhelmed all the time.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and experiencing information overload, try balancing your lifestyle. Here are some ways to refill your bucket:

  • Get away -- Take some time (12 to 48 hours) away from work/school and technology.
  • Reconnect with nature -- Go hiking or camping in nature -- tech free style!
  • Break your day up -- Take more frequent (like 20+ of them) but shorter 1-2 minute breaks throughout your day.
  • Physical activity -- Exercise 60 minutes (minimum 20) at least 4-5 time per week.
  • Physiology affects how we feel -- Stand up straight in front of a mirror looking at yourself with the biggest possible smile for 20 minutes a day. You'll be amazed at what this can do for you in just three weeks.
  • Watch what you take in -- Cook and eat your own healthy meals with friends whenever possible. If your friends tend to eat junk, find new friends to eat with.
  • Meditate -- regularly to clear your mind.
  • Socialize -- Spend quality tech-free time with friends and family who love and care about you, not just for what you can for them. If your friends tend to bring you down, find new friends. You become physically and emotionally like the seven to eight people you hang around with the most.
  • Laugh and cry -- emotional outlets can be a wonderful way to help reduce overwhelm.
  • Rest -- Make sure you get enough sleep every night. Despite what some people think, sleep isn't a bank. You can't save it up for a rainy day. Your body will overrule any willpower you think you have over it if it feels abused. If you've ever been sick, you know what I mean.
  • Contribute -- Sharing what you learned with others will also help your brain process what you are learning and help it retain more. This can be one-on-one, in discussion groups or in front of an audience (public speaking). Find ways to apply what you learn. Start a project or contribute to someone elses project.
  • Stop smoking -- It will literally kill you and those around you. Same goes for recreational drugs.
  • Information dumps -- can be in the form of writing articles for a blog, a book or publication. You could even do a vlog on YouTube.
  • Gratitude -- keep a gratitude journal. Write down 3-5 new things you are grateful for each day. One of these should be about someone you care about. Share that one with person each day. On days when you have trouble coming up with things to be grateful for, read your gratitude journal.

You are not a machine. Stop treating your brain as if it were one.

If you are already feeling down since more than two weeks, see your doctor. The longer you feel that way, the longer it may take to feel better.

Hope you find this useful.

Best regards,

Michael Milette

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