In a world where stress, anxiety, and overwhelm seem like constant companions, finding practical strategies to navigate the chaos is essential. Recently, I’ve been diving into Stop Overthinking by Nick Trenton—a fantastic read packed with actionable ideas to help manage overthinking and the emotional fatigue that often comes with it.

One concept from the book that really stood out to me is the 4 A’s of Stress Management, originally developed by the Mayo Clinic. This timeless framework is especially useful for those of us who feel overloaded—whether professionally, personally, or both. Let’s explore how each “A” can guide you in reclaiming control and creating more mental space.

Let me ask you a question…When you start feeling that sense of overload or overwhelm during the day, what do you do about it? Maybe your team is underperforming by missing deadlines or allowing differences of opinions to become their focus? Do you turn a blind eye and hope that the stress of handling these unwelcomed situations will simply go away?

See if this sounds familiar…You're sitting on your favorite chair on a work night, or maybe you're lying on the couch. It's late. You really should be going to bed and you know it. But for some reason you just can't stop yourself from wanting to watch that next episode in the series you've gotten hooked on. Or perhaps you find yourself rereading page 32 of Chapter 2 in your favorite book because you've fallen asleep several times by the 3rd sentence.

How many times in the past week have you said, “I only have ___________ minutes right now?”

Judging from my conversations with coaching clients and program participants, we are all saying it a lot more often. Not that it's a bad thing to be cognizant of how much time you have available. It's just that saying the phrase usually leads to choosing an easy-to-complete task (like checking email, social media, or some mindless activity) that really doesn't move your work or life forward in the most meaningful way.