#236| One Simple Mantra That Stops Overwhelm In Its Tracks: Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

Are you physically present—but mentally stuck replaying the past or worrying about what’s next?

If you constantly feel overwhelmed, distracted, or disconnected, your brain may be pulling you out of the present moment without you even realizing it. This episode breaks down why that happens and how it quietly fuels stress, anxiety, and lack of focus in your daily life.

In this episode, you will:

•  Learn why your brain defaults to the past and future—and how it increases overwhelm 
•  Discover a simple mantra that instantly brings you back to calm and clarity 
•  Improve your focus, productivity, and connection with others by staying present 

Press play now to learn the quick mental reset that helps you feel calmer, more focused, and fully present in seconds.

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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...

Transcript

Michelle Gauthier 0:01

If your brain feels like it's constantly jumping to what you need to do next or replaying what has already happened, this episode is for you.

Michelle Gauthier 0:14

You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less. I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former Overwhelmed Working Woman and current life coach. On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's working woman experiences. And in each episode, you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease, and relaxation to your life.

Sponsor Tip On Habit Stacking

Michelle Gauthier 0:41

Hi, friend. Thanks for joining today. Today we're going to talk about a mantra to bring you back to the present, to be in the moment that you're actually in. Being in the moment that you're actually in is useful because that is where calm lies. When you're doing one thing and you're in the present, that is the most calm and connected that I believe that we can feel. When you listen to this episode today, you'll discover why overwhelm pulls you out of the present moment, how your brain keeps you stuck in the past and in the future, and a simple mantra that you can use anytime to come back to the present. This will not be learning to be a super meditator or anything complex. This is just a quick, easy tip to bring yourself back to the present so that you can feel calm and enjoy life more. Today's episode is sponsored by Inspire Wellness, a St. Louis-based woman-owned company where I get all of my supplements via subscription that just shows up on my doorstep. You know, one of the things we talk about on this podcast is how to create new habits. And this is a perfect example of habit stacking. I already have the habit of getting up in the morning and drinking a glass of water. And while I'm doing that, I make my coffee and then I drink my first cup of coffee. What I have done is I have stacked in the habit of taking a scoop of collagen and a scoop of creatine and putting that into my coffee, and it's just done. And the other way that I make this super easy for myself is to do the subscription. So I never have to think about when I'm running out, if I need to order, etc. It just shows up on my doorstep. So it is available to me. I make this a very low effort habit that has high results. So I get the result of better skin, better hair, less brain fog, more energy, ability to build more muscle. And it's super easy for me to do. So start a habit stack for yourself. Maybe you don't drink coffee in the morning, maybe you drink tea, put it in tea. Maybe you just drink water first thing in the morning. You can put it in your water. It has no taste. So create a new habit for yourself and get some benefits that are really easy. Go to inspirewellness.com slash OW for overwhelmed working woman. And when you subscribe, you will get 15% off the bestseller bundle, which is creatine and collagen. Not just the first order, but 15% off every monthly order.

Why Overwhelm Leaves The Present

Michelle Gauthier 2:59

Okay, let's jump into this mantra that you can use to bring yourself back to the present moment. When you feel overwhelmed, what's happening is your brain's trying to manage everything at once, which as we know is impossible. But it will often think about what you have to do later, everything you have coming up this week, and everything that might go wrong. Or it will take the other path and go backwards and think of all the things that you didn't get done today, or that conversation that you had with your coworker that seemed to go sideways. And should you have said this or should you have said that? And it's like your brain's trying to solve problems that either don't exist yet or things that have already happened and you can't go back and redo. So in those moments, you're not actually being present and living your life. You're living in a mental version of the past or the present or a combination of the past and the present.

Michelle Gauthier 3:49

And what happens when we do that? So for example, I'm picturing as I'm describing this, I'm picturing myself being in my kitchen and cooking dinner for my kids, and they're in and out, and we're talking about different things. And if what I'm thinking about is a client session that I had at 10 o'clock that morning, or all the things that I need to do that night before I go to bed, what happens is I feel low-key overwhelmed just thinking about that. And then also I'm not fully present with what I'm doing. I'm not fully present with listening to my kids or even enjoying what I'm cooking or anything. I'm physically in my kitchen, but mentally I'm somewhere else. And that prevents us from A, feeling calm and B feeling connected to other people. There's also really no upside to doing that.

The Mantra And Senses Reset

Calm Focus And Better Connection

Try One Task And Wrap Up

Michelle Gauthier 4:34

When you come back to the present moment, everything starts to shift. Not because anything's really changed in your environment, but because you do. And when you come back to that present moment, you stop stacking all those overwhelming things. And instead of thinking about everything, you're just here. Maybe you're just sending one email or just having one conversation without looking at your phone while you're talking to someone or just taking one breath. Just getting to that space feels like life is so much more calm and manageable. So here's the practice that I suggest that you try. So the next time you feel overwhelmed thinking about the future, or you're replaying conversations from the past, or you're stuck in your head, just pause and say to yourself, I'm right here right now, and bring yourself back to the present moment. Another good trick that you can use to bring yourself to the present, use your senses and ask yourself, what can I see right now? What can I hear right now? What can I feel right now? What can I smell right now? And I think that you could do all of the senses, but you could even just do one. What's something that I can hear right now? What's something that I can smell right now? Nothing fancy, just noticing. Like I'm sitting in my office right now, and I would say, oh, it's just quiet in here. But if I think, what can I hear? I can hear that the air conditioning is blowing a little bit. I can hear that that little neighbor girl across the street is outside playing. I can hear little sounds, and that helps bring me back to the present moment. And you can try it right now. Even if you're driving, you can say, I'm right here right now. I'm just driving and start paying attention to your driving and ask yourself, what's something I can smell right now? What's something I can hear right now? I'm right here right now, and just see how it makes you feel. When I do that shift, I immediately my shoulders immediately release. It just takes the stress out of the moment. This is just one little tip, but I want to remind you why it's important to be present. It can reduce your overwhelm and your anxiety. When you come back to now, your brain literally calms down. Something else we talk about a lot on this podcast is how to be more productive and to be more focused. And in other episodes, I've talked about how research shows that if you do one thing at a time, you actually get more done. So you feel like, oh, I need to do everything at once. But when you do one thing at a time and you rest in between those things, you get much more done. I also think it makes you a great example to other people. If you're a parent, that could be to your kids. It could even be to your friends, but I'm sure you can think about someone in your circle who you spend time with who is rarely or never present. And I what I mean by that is you're talking to them and they might be answering, but they're not really there. They're like looking at their phone the whole time, or you can tell that they're thinking about something else. Think if you're the opposite of that. If you sit down to lunch with someone and you put your phone in your purse and you're just one-on-one talking to them, focusing on the lunch you're eating, focusing on that person. Think about the experience that you would have, how much better that experience would be, and what a good example you are to the people around you. Okay, so remember, our brain, when it feels overwhelmed, will want to pull us into the future. What do I have to do next? Or into the past. What have I already done wrong or what did I miss? And you can bring yourself into the present by saying, I'm right here, right now, and using a couple of your senses to check in and say, what can I see? What can I hear? What can I smell? What can I touch? etc. It will bring you back to the present moment. And when you're in the present moment, that is where you can find calm and connection. This is such a simple one to try. So I challenge you to right now. Have you ever tried to just listen to a podcast, for example? I challenged myself to this one time just to lie down on my bed and listen to a podcast without doing anything else. And it felt very uncomfortable at first. But guess what? I got a lot more out of the podcast when all I did was listen to it. So challenge yourself today, whether it just be eating your lunch, and the only thing you're doing while you're eating your lunch is eating your lunch, not looking at your phone or thinking of a million different things, or talking on the phone to someone, and that's all you're doing is talking to them on the phone or sending an email and that's all you're doing. Give this one a try today and see the difference that you feel when you're truly being present. Have a great week. Thank you for listening to the Overwhelmed Working Woman podcast. If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at MichelleGauthier.com. See you next week.