#138 - Overcoming Overwhelm with Kerry Thomas

In this episode of the Morning Upgrade podcast I talk with Kerry Thomas about her morning routine, how to overcome overwhelm, speaking tips, systems and processes and more.

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Announcer 

Hey, welcome to the Morning Upgrade podcast with Ryan cote, where we feature casual conversations with entrepreneurs about personal development and growth.

Ryan  

Hey, Carrie, welcome to the Morning Upgrade podcast. How's your day going?

Carrie 

It's going great. Thank you for having me, Ryan.

Ryan 

You're welcome. I'm excited to talk to you. Let's kick this off. Why don't you tell my my audience of morning upgraders who you are, and what you do for a living? And then you choose something you're grateful for, or when?

Carrie   

Sure. So I'm Carrie Thomas, I'm the owner of Conquer the Chaos. I've had my business since 2007. I do organizing and productivity coaching, I work with both business owners and executives on all of their business systems, helping them get all that in order. And then I also run groups for women, where we look at the home and office organizing side of things, but then also the internal clutter. So mental clutter and emotional clutter. And then my one on one VIP clients, I slide that in there as well. They can't avoid it. And I live in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, I followed my lifelong dream of moving to the beach. So gosh, that's a win. That's what I'm grateful for. But I guess the most recent thing that I'm grateful for is I just joined. I just hired my coach, and I believe in coaching and I've had you know, many coaches, but I just took a big leap and invested in myself. And I'm kind of buzzing with excitement about that.

Ryan   

It's exciting. Is that your big plan to uplevel yourself in 2023?

Carrie 

It is well I have quite a few plans. 2023. I pick the word of the year, it came up with some of my coaching clients. And at first, it didn't resonate with me, but my word of the year is epic. And I have fully embraced that now. And yes, epic.

Ryan   

That's excellent. My word is it's more of a phrase do something. My read somewhere? Actually, no, it was not the traveler's gift by Andy Andrews. But it was the next book, the last summit, I think it is. It's like part two of the traveler's gift that's like his main book, but the big word or that big phrase, that book was do something and I was like, that sounds good. I like that. So I'm gonna go with that one. I do like that. So how did you get into like, I guess what led you to conquer the chaos? Like what? experience or events?

Carrie   

Made? Sure so yes, so I started I mean, my background, my career, I have my bachelor's and master's in special education. And I taught and I did love it. And it was my guess I taught for about nine years. And then kids came and my ex-husband'sjobmoved us around a lot. And so I never went back to teaching. But I've always had that sort of organizing, itch. And I've always been good at organizing. And I had a friend who became a professional organizer. I was like, Wait, but I can do that as a job. Tell me more. And so I started and then I, you know, evolved through the years I got certified to work with the businesses. And then in 2017, I did a TED Talk. That was just a bucket list item for me. But it spoke to that internal clutter as well and what to do about it. And so people started reaching out from all over and will you coach me? And I said, No, I'm not a coach. But within the next two years, I became a coach. And so now I do both. And so it continues to evolve. I'm excited to see what evolves next. But I'm in a happy groove right now.

Ryan  

You made me think of a question I don't normally ask. But I like the TED Talk. Public speaking. I know what the TED talks are, they're very particular about who they have speak. And then when I least have been told that they give you certain guidelines on what to do. And they wanted to be like the best talk ever. So in terms of your experience, public speaking, or maybe even preparing for the TED talk, what tips do you have around public speaking that you relied on to because I'm sure you were a little bit nervous during the TED talk? What tips do you have that you think made that talk go well for you? Oh, gosh,

Carrie   

that is a good question. So for me, I think it starts with the message, you have to have something that's inside of you that you want to impart and share with people. And so it starts with the message. My talk actually came to me in the shower one day, and it started with one word overwhelmed. And that's a word I hear so much. And so I thought, Okay, what do I want to I want people to know, you don't have to live in this overwhelm. So that would be step one is to be solid in your message, not just say, Well, I'm going to talk, and just start talking. The other particular thing with a TED talk is it does have to be memorized. So it's a very different type of public speaking where you don't have cards and you can't go off the cuff. And so if you if any Of the listeners do have to do that type of speaking, my best tip on that is to memorize it in chunks, like memorize it in sections. And so even if you feel a little bit lost if you know, okay, I'm nearing the end of this section, section two is this you can sort of always find your place if you memorize it in sections. And then I guess just enjoy it. I think with public speaking, people don't come across as their true selves, because they get so in their head, right, and they get so nervous, and you just have to take a deep breath. And I did that Superman pose before I went out. Yeah, and I grounded my feet into the earth. And I, I just took a deep breath, and I enjoyed i .When I finished, I went around. And when they opened the doors again, in between speakers, I went and sat next to a friend. And I said, Oh, my gosh, that was so fun. I want to go again, I want to go again. And I think that's why my, my video went viral was I think that comes across that I was truly myself, and I was enjoying the moment. So yeah, just breathe and go with it.

Ryan   

And those are excellent tips. But we've never spoken about public speaking on this podcast. But we do talk business. And there are a lot of business owners that listen to this. So I'm glad we went over that. So let's talk about your morning routine, how organized is your morning routine, I had to kind of feed weave that in? How organized is it?

Carrie  

Well, it's funny because you and I were originally scheduled to talk and had to reschedule. And if, if you had asked me about our original date, I would have said that it's not organized at all. But one of the things I did recently is I took a look at all of the things that Ido regularlys that I'm good at. And then some of the morning routine things that I like to include, but I don't always and I made a checklist just in a Google Doc, very low tech. And I refer to it, I don't, I'm not gonna beat myself up if I miss one or two things. But I do feel better when I include them all. When my day starts I always get up at the same time. And I work out at a gym five days a week. And so that's right there right off the bat, like the second my eyes open, I have that consistency. And then I walk home, I get a ride to the gym, and I walk home, which is perfect because I get that quiet time. And I can think and I just have a fresh perspective by the time I even get home from that. But I do include things I do a daily devotional and I gratitude the one thing that never slipped through the cracks is I have a book. And I do a daily gratitude practice. And so I write out a minimum of 20 things every day that I'm grateful for, even if I get stuck in the right coffee three days in a row. Like I just always do my gratitude journal. So I do have some very particular things that I like to start my day with. I feel so much better when I start.

Ryan   

Yeah, me too. Obviously. It's the podcast. But yeah. You say you walk to the gym, and I get like that, right? Now, actually,

Carrie   

my circumstances a little different. Where I live, I live right by the gym owner. So they pick me up and drive me there. And I do my workout. And then I walk home. Got it. Yeah, sounds nice. little unusual, but it works for me.

Ryan  

Yeah, that sounds nice. I want them to overwhelm me. I don't think we're told that either. So we got to first hear, but it's so relevant right now. And I probably will keep me at least I know, it depends on what stage of life you're in. But I don't think it's pretty universal to I don't know, in my life, there's been seasons where I've been very overwhelmed. Not so much. But you know, I know, this is a pretty general question. But do you have any tips around Universal tips for getting over the overwhelm? I know it's gonna be different based on what they're going through and the personnel that but are there any tried and true, tried and true strategies that you can share?

Carrie  

Yes. So from a practical standpoint, like, if you're overwhelmed from a business or tasks or things like that, just doing a brain dump, and getting it all out on paper, really, really helps I encourage my clients to do regular brain dumps and then get the things scheduled that need to be from that. But writing out you know, just anything that comes you know, some of the things might be tasks, some might be grocery store list is doing that brain dump. That's one. Another general tip for overwhelm. If you're feeling overwhelmed at the moment just step away. I am a huge proponent of you know, going out in nature, fresh air, actually breathing. I have a guest in my Facebook group about breathwork I've been learning a lot about that just what it does to your nervous system and literally to your physiology of your body. Ready to stop, slow down, and breathe, you can stop a lot of overwhelm in its tracks, just with those two things getting out within your head onto paper. And then just stepping outside and breathing. I do talk to people about the benefit of your calendar. And your schedule is kind of funny because people think like, well, I'm already overwhelmed. I don't want to put more stuff on my calendar. But it's, it's sort of backward. Because, you know, I always say what gets scheduled gets done, you know, a lot of people use that quote. And if you have it on your calendar, it takes away the guests in your mind, and it takes away the pressure of, well, I think there's something out there, but I don't know what it is. And I forget. And last, I know, you must have questions. But the last thing I'll say right now that came to my mind because this has been coming up a lot, is people get so overwhelmed. And they're so scattered, they're trying to multitask, which is a myth, right? And they forget either what they're supposed to do next, or what they were doing last. And so really, the last couple of weeks have been encouraging people to leave themselves breadcrumbs and have a little notebook or sticky note. And when you step away to go do something else write down the last thing you were doing or write down the next thing you want to do. Someone was telling me that Ernest Hemingway always stopped mid-sentence when he was writing so that when he came back, he didn't have to guess what he was going to say next, he just finished that sentence and then went on. So that's a big help to a lot of people lately. Just leave yourself those breadcrumbs.

Ryan   

Yeah, I like to just genius. And I've never heard that before, um, the with the brain dump. And part of my morning routine is I have this notepad and I journal just kind of whatever comes to mind, reading is a little bit different than I write down what my priorities are for the day, just get it out of my head, just clean it and then I have something to do just based on my personal experience. But I happen to have some that at least refer to the journal and the brain dump is more just to get thoughts in my head. But then the priorities, of course, the to do list. Or if you want to call it, it's more just something for me to refer back to throughout the day. So I don't have to like, think about what's next, I kind of look at my list. And then what did I deem is important this morning, and then try to knock off as many of those as possible. So yeah, those were good, very good tips. Excellent tips.

Carrie  

And would like to add one other thing if I can. People always want to ask me, Well, what's the best to do app? Or what's the best? Do you know? Should I have a notebook? Should I keep it on my phone? And the answer is all of the above. So basically, I always encourage people to do what works for them. If you are an old fashion notebook person, great. I would say only have one that you carry around. But if you like to keep things in a Google Doc, just do that. If you'd like to keep notes on your phone, like, what if the bottom line is, don't go looking for a new app or a new system? Unless there are gaps? Are you missing appointments? Are you falling behind? Then yes, evaluate it. But if things are humming along, don't, don't venture off just because you know, Joe, your next-door neighbor has a brand new fancy tech tool. Just stick with what works and low-tech is okay.

Ryan   

I love using a notepad pen to paper, actually a pen I like I'm gonna make a pen recommendation on this podcast right now, which will probably never happen again. But I use Pilot Frixion pens. They're erasable, and it's so if I make a mistake, I can erase it. It's a really good, really good pen, but I love pen to paper. I've tried apps before but then I'm on my phone. Yeah, like you said, you have to find out what works best for you. So as someone that is an expert in conquering the chaos, and conquering overwhelm, how do you personally feed your happiness and your fulfillment?

Carrie   

For me, it's all about being outside. Honestly, that's why I move to the beach, I can instantly raise my vibration and prove my energy. If I step outside, I also have a good friend group. And I love spending time with friends and family just being around people and enjoyingthe  life I read. I do a lot of reading and a lot of videosself-improvementt type thing. If I need to pick me up, I'll listen to a guided meditation or something like that. But hands down. For me it's being in nature and if I can move out in nature all the better if I can be walking or paddleboarding or something even better.

Ryan  

Yeah, good for you for making your dream come true. But moving to the beach. It's funny that we're having this conversation because this morning I got served an article about like, the top 10 cheapest countries to move to and the number one was Portugal and they were showing pictures and the cost of living and I found myself like fantasizing about moving there and like having like virtually no overhead but then I'm like, you know I snap myself out of it because like you know silly I get kids and friends and family here and stuff like that. But in your case, You're able to make it work must be very nice over there.

Carrie  

It is. And I'm exactly in between, I have two sons that are 26 and 22. And I'm in between them. They're both about seven hours away. So it's a good spot.

Ryan  

Excellent. All right, I've got one last question for you, Carrie. And then we're gonna wrap up with you telling everyone how, how they can reach out to you, they want to connect with you, I want to talk about the meaning of life. What that means, through your journey thus far, what is the meaning of life for you?

Carrie  

For me, it's two things. It's both living in love and your purpose. So always sharing our gifts. And I've learned recently to always ask what would love to do and use that as a guide. And I think if you do both of those things, every day, you can't help but make the world better, which I think is the ultimate meaning of why we're here.

Ryan   

Excellent. I said this in one of my more recent episodes, but that answer of love is becoming very, very common, but that meaning of life, so there's something to it, or maybe someone's trying to tell me something, but I agree with you. I'm hearing it more and more. So there's something to it. So for everyone listening, just take notice of that. Go wait for the show. Well, thank you, Carrie, people want to connect with you. Where should we? Where should we send them?

Carrie  

So my website is conquered chaos.com. I also have a site where you can get a download funny enough on 10 ways to eliminate overwhelm. And that is clutter to clarity. steps.com. It's on my website too. But my favorite place to connect with people and hang out is my Facebook group called less clutter more peace.

Ryan   

Excellent. Well, thanks, Kerry. Great job. Thanks for being shared.

Carrie  

Thank you.

Announcer  

Thanks for listening to the morning upgrade podcast. Please subscribe and review. And don't forget to visit us at morning upgrade.com For more content

Transcribed by https://otter.ai