My disk is full

I keep getting a pop-up on my Mac that my disk is full.  I have a large hard drive, or I thought I did, so in one way, I am surprised by this message.  But in another way, I am not surprised.  I thought this was the universe sending me a message.  Lately, I feel like all of my “disks” are full.  My mental, emotional, physical, and whatever other categories of energy I have are all feeling depleted.

I am overwhelmed.  Yes, my disk is full. 

What do I do when my disk is full?  That’s a good question.  I would love to know what to do.  Oh, you’re reading this because you think I have the answer to that question.  Or you’re reading this because you’re my mom.  Hi mom.

My disk is full.  My cup runneth over.  I am overcommitted.  I am stretched too thin.  There are a million ways to describe this.  When my disk becomes full, I lose focus, I am less efficient, I am less productive, and most concerning, I am not as nice of a person as I want to be.  I am less friendly to my co-workers, I am less nice to my kids, and I am less nice to my husband.  I lose my patience, I get frustrated more easily, and I lose my empathy.  The one benefit might be that I sometimes get hyper-focused one getting shit done and trying to weed through this, and sometimes I’ll be even more direct than usual with others around me in an attempt to expect them to step it up.  When my disk is full, I want to spread some of it onto your hard drive to share the love.  That sounds like some sort of inappropriate comment, but hopefully, the metaphor sticks, and that makes sense. 

How I manage when my literal disk is full or when I am feeling overwhelmed:

1. Take a break and refresh. One of the first things I know I need to do is walk away and take a breather.  I need to step back and relax for a minute or a lot of minutes.  This could mean going for a walk, playing with my kids, meditating, working out, watching TV, reading a book, washing some dishes, or whatever it is that would relax me at the moment.  It could also mean going to sleep early and getting rest to tackle things well-rested the next day.  I don’t always do this step, but it’s an important one.  When I do this step, I always feel better.  Viktor Frankl is famous for say, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.”  I love this quote because it reminds me of the power of space. Putting space between yourself and stress is important.  You will choose a better response and approach when you give something space. 
2. Get my mindset right. I like to remind myself that this is a point in time, and it will pass.  I’ve felt overwhelmed before, and it eventually passes, and I can get through this.  Getting my mindset right is half the battle.  If I spin on things for too long, it’s just not helpful.  I need to get my mindset right and then jump in. 
3. Start somewhere. I realize that I can’t be fully paralyzed by my disk being full.  On my Mac, programs start shutting down due to the overload on the system.  Seriously, my Outlook just shut down.  I can’t let myself do this.  I can’t just shut down and quit.  I have to start somewhere and start tackling the problem.  In the case of my Mac, I need to start deleting or archiving files.  I don’t have to improve my file organization or archiving system overnight, but I have to start somewhere.  Baby steps.  I recently interviewed John Onwuchekwa on my podcast, and he talked about acorns growing into trees.  Acorns are these tiny things that you feel like do nothing, but they grow into oak trees when planted.  Starting somewhere, even small is like remembering that acorns grow into trees.  Small steps are getting you to where you need to go. 
4. Seek help where it’s available. Think about what areas you can get help in.  For my literal disk being full, I purchased a program in the App Store called DaisyDisk, and it helps to scan and find areas where you are storing the most files, where you have duplicate files, and other opportunities to improve your disk usage.  For my broader life, I have opportunities for help across my spouse/partner, co-workers, my team at work, family, and even my kids.  I can delegate things to some of these people.  I can tell them I need their help.  I can get specific on what they can do to help me or to help our family.  I’ve noticed over the years that most of the time when you ask, people will help.  It’s a personal decision on what to ask for help on, who to ask, how to ask, and all that; Asking for help is worth considering as you figure out how to get past this point of overwhelm.  The main point is, don’t be afraid to ask for help.   It’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help. It is often a sign of strength to ask for what you need to be successful. 
5. Take an inventory and get organized. I find it’s hard to know where to begin when my mind or my workspace is in a state of disorganization or overwhelm.  This is when I try to take a step back and spend some time going through all of my notes, to-do lists, project lists, emails, and more to get a sense of what all is on my plate.  I need to take inventory as best I can and get it all out of my head and on paper or into something digitally.  I usually prefer paper when I get to a true period of overwhelm. 
6. Focus + Prioritize. My next step is to decide what needs to be done now vs. what can wait until later.  And I can’t do this well until I’ve properly gone through step four above.  When I see all of the stuff together, I’m much better at prioritizing and making some decisions on where to spend my time next. 
7. Use the overwhelm for good. I love to channel the feelings, frustrations, and emotions that come with overwhelm and use them to drive good change in my life.  When I get a message that my disk is full and programs start shutting down, it does two things for me.  First, it lights a fire under me to get things in order and supercharges my drive and motivation to get things done.   Second, I use that fire to be more ruthless about prioritizing and taking things off my list.  In the case of my literal drive being full, I’m more ruthless about deleting or archiving files.  I typically want to look at things before I agree to archive them, but when it’s this dire, I just start to massively archive things, and it feels good to make these more extensive and more sweeping decisions.  When it’s my physical life, and I’m overwhelmed, I’m better and decluttering.  I use my overwhelmed feeling for good, and I’ll start minimizing and getting rid of things around my house.  I always know that getting rid of things makes me feel happier and lighter. 

I am still feeling overwhelmed, but even the process of writing out the above list and reminding myself how I get out of a state of overwhelm is helpful.  I feel better.  Next time your disk is full, or you’re feeling overwhelmed, read this list or make a similar list for yourself.  Then work the list.   You will eventually feel better.  This time will pass. 

Written while listening to Electric Relaxation by A Tribe Called Quest

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