Journaling When You're Overwhelmed: Stop Carrying Everything at Once
When everything feels urgent, journaling can help you slow down, sort through what you're carrying, and find your next faithful step.
"I have too much to do, and I don't even know where to start."
Have you ever had one of those seasons where you feel like you're carrying a little bit of everything?
That has been me at times.
I have goals I want to work toward. Quilts that need to be finished. Painting projects around the house. Things I want to do in the business. The house itself, which always seems to have something waiting for me. Taking care of my health. Caring for my family. Homeschooling.
And then there are all the little things that don't make it onto the list but still take up space in your mind.
For a while, I found myself looking at all of these things as if they were equally urgent.
The business needed attention.
The house needed attention.
The quilts needed to be finished.
I needed to exercise.
The kids needed me.
There were goals I hadn't made progress on.
And because all of these things were constantly running through my mind, I felt like I should be doing something about all of them.
At the same time.
The problem wasn't necessarily that I had too much to do.
The problem was that I was mentally carrying everything at once.
The Real Problem With Overwhelm
We often think of overwhelm as the result of having too many responsibilities.
Sometimes that is certainly part of it. Women have full lives. We care for families, homes, gardens, animals, jobs, businesses, churches, friendships, and so many other things.
But I've noticed that there is another kind of overwhelm that can happen even when we haven't actually added anything new to our lives.
It's what happens when everything in our life feels like it needs our attention right now.
A goal for six months from now feels just as pressing as the dinner that needs to be made tonight.
A project we hope to start next spring sits in our mind beside the child who needs help with school this afternoon.
The quilt we want to finish, the business idea we're excited about, the garden project we're planning, and the housework waiting for us all begin competing for the same mental space.
Nothing has necessarily become more urgent.
We've simply stopped separating what belongs to today from what belongs to another day.
And when everything is mentally sitting in today's pile, it's no wonder we feel overwhelmed.
You Don't Have to Carry Everything Today
There is nothing wrong with caring about many things.
In fact, I think one of the beautiful things about building a home and homestead is that there are so many things worth caring about.
You may have dreams for your garden.
You may want to learn how to preserve food.
You may want to raise animals.
You may want to improve your home.
You may have children you're raising and teaching.
You may have a business or another calling God has placed on your heart.
You may have things you simply enjoy doing.
Those things don't have to disappear just because they aren't today's priority.
They simply need their proper place.
I don't need to finish the quilt today because I want to finish it eventually.
I don't need to solve every business problem today because I have goals for the business.
I don't need to complete every house project today because the house will still be here tomorrow.
And I don't need to figure out the entire future of my homestead before I can take care of what God has placed in front of me today.
That realization can bring a surprising amount of steadiness.
From Carrying Everything to Tending What Is Mine
There is a subtle difference between these two ways of thinking:
"I have to keep everything moving."
and
"God will help me faithfully tend what is mine today."
The first one puts the weight of everything on my shoulders.
The second recognizes that I have limits.
I have a certain amount of time.
A certain amount of energy.
A certain number of hours in the day.
And God already knows those limits.
I don't have to pretend that I can live as though tomorrow's responsibilities belong to me today.
This doesn't mean ignoring things that need to be done. It means learning to distinguish between what actually needs my attention now and what can be entrusted to another day.
That is where journaling can become so helpful.
Get It Out of Your Head
When I'm overwhelmed, sometimes the most helpful thing I can do is stop trying to organize everything in my head.
I get out a piece of paper.
And I write.
Not a beautifully organized planner page.
Not a perfectly prioritized to-do list.
Just everything I'm carrying.
The project.
The idea.
The worry.
The unfinished task.
The thing I don't want to forget.
The thing I feel guilty about.
The thing I really want to do.
The thing I think I should be doing.
Getting those thoughts onto paper creates a little space between me and everything I'm carrying.
Instead of reacting to a hundred thoughts at once, I can actually look at them.
And once I can see them, I can begin to sort them.
That's the simple rhythm I come back to when I feel overwhelmed.
A Simple Journaling Rhythm for Overwhelm
1. Name It
Start by asking:
What feels overwhelming right now?
Don't try to make it neat.
Write down what is actually taking up space in your mind.
Maybe it's your house.
Maybe it's money.
Maybe it's a project.
Maybe it's your children's needs.
Maybe it's a goal you've fallen behind on.
Maybe it's simply the feeling that you aren't doing enough.
Name it.
You can't sort through what you're unwilling to acknowledge.
2. Release It
Once you've written it down, pause.
What do you need to give to God?
Some things on your list may be practical responsibilities. Others may be worries about things you cannot control.
You don't have to solve everything simply because you're thinking about it.
Take a moment to pray over what you've written.
Tell God what you're worried about.
Tell Him where you're tired.
Tell Him what you're trying to control.
And then consciously place those things in His hands.
3. Sort It
Now look at what you've written and ask:
What actually belongs today?
This is where the list begins to get smaller.
Maybe the children need you today.
Maybe dinner needs to happen.
Maybe there is one work responsibility that genuinely needs your attention.
Maybe something urgent came up on the homestead.
Those things belong in today's responsibilities.
But perhaps the garden project you're thinking about doesn't.
Maybe the new business idea doesn't.
Maybe the room you've been wanting to paint doesn't.
Maybe the quilt can wait until tomorrow.
They aren't unimportant.
They're simply not today's responsibility.
4. Choose It
Once you've separated today's responsibilities from everything else, ask:
What is my next faithful step?
Not, How can I get everything done?
Not, How can I catch up?
Just:
What is the next faithful step?
Sometimes that step will be something practical.
Sometimes it will be resting.
Sometimes it will be having a conversation you've been avoiding.
Sometimes it will be making dinner and then putting the rest of the list away.
Faithfulness doesn't always look productive.
It looks like tending what God has actually placed in front of you.
5. Release the Rest
This may be the hardest part.
Once you've identified what belongs today, let the rest wait.
You don't need to keep rehearsing tomorrow's responsibilities while you're living today.
Write them down if you need to. Put them somewhere you can return to them later.
Then give yourself permission to stop carrying them for now.
They haven't disappeared.
You have simply put them back in their proper place.
Why Journaling Can Bring Steadiness
Journaling isn't magic, and putting something on paper doesn't automatically make a difficult season easier.
But it can help us slow down enough to see what is actually happening.
When everything stays in our head, every thought can feel equally important.
Writing gives us the opportunity to examine those thoughts instead of immediately reacting to them.
It helps us distinguish between:
What needs my attention today
and
What I can entrust to tomorrow.
And sometimes that's all we need to begin moving from overwhelm toward steadiness.
Not a new planner.
Not a more complicated system.
Not another list of things to accomplish.
Just enough space to breathe, pray, and see clearly.
Cast Your Anxiety on Him
Peter gives us a simple instruction in 1 Peter 5:7:
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
I love that this doesn't tell us to pretend we aren't anxious.
It doesn't tell us that there isn't anything difficult happening.
It tells us what to do with what we're carrying.
Cast it on Him.
Give it to Him.
Not because our responsibilities don't matter, but because we were never meant to carry them apart from Him.
There will always be something else to think about.
Another project.
Another need.
Another decision.
Another goal.
Another season coming.
But God is not asking you to live tomorrow today.
He is asking you to walk with Him in the life He has given you right now.
You Are Not Failing Because You Can't Carry Everything
If you are feeling overwhelmed because there are too many things on your mind, I want you to hear this:
You aren't failing because you can't carry everything. You're human.
You have limits.
Your time is limited.
Your energy is limited.
Your attention is limited.
That doesn't mean you're doing a poor job.
It means you were never designed to carry every responsibility at the same time.
You don't have to keep every plate spinning.
You don't have to make progress on every goal.
You don't have to finish every project.
You don't have to build your homestead all at once.
You can faithfully tend what is yours today and trust God with what belongs to tomorrow.
Try This When You're Overwhelmed
The next time you feel like you have too much to do and don't know where to start, grab a piece of paper and write:
"Everything I'm carrying right now..."
Then empty your head.
Don't organize it as you go.
Don't decide whether something is important.
Just write.
Once it's out, pray over it.
Then circle only the things that actually belong to today.
Choose your next faithful step.
And let the rest wait.
Try this for a week.
You may find that the circumstances of your life haven't changed nearly as much as you thought they needed to.
What changed was your willingness to stop carrying everything at once.
And sometimes that is where steadiness begins.
You don't need to carry everything today. You just need to faithfully tend what God has placed in your hands.
As you continue through the Purposeful Growing Journey, this practice of sorting what matters is part of learning to become rooted—learning to recognize what matters most in the season you're actually living.
When you're ready, continue to the next blog in this series and take the next faithful step with me.
Have a blessed day,
Crystal
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