… like you should be doing something but you’re not sure what. Like you can’t rest because there is always more to do – always something you should be doing.

Do you have an ever-growing to-do list?

How about this one: before you’ve completed one task, you’ve already started another one.

I believe that in today’s fast-paced world with so much going on, so much choice, so much information available, the ability to do and achieve things with the help of ready information, tools, resources and technology like never before… we are all asking “Now What?” … because we are kind of conditioned to.

In a world of instant gratification we want an instant hit, we want results, we want to do more, be more… and we want to know what’s next.

We are impatient, wired, high on life. It’s all very impressive but at the same time it is also all – potentially – a little too much at times and a potential cause of stress and anxiety.

Boredom, fear of missing out (FOMO) as we see others doing so much and so much going on around us, fuelled by an insane media world where things get twisted and exaggerated, expectation, judgement, assumption because we think we know (a lot more than we actually do). It’s little wonder that we ask the question “Now What?” from time to time. We are used to so much going on around us.

What happens then, when you want to know what’s next but can’t find something to do?

You search. Then you get stressed about not finding something else to do, you feel uncomfortable and worried that you are not doing something you should be doing or you’re not working as hard as you should be.

You can’t rest.

You may even get this internal dialogue filling in the gaps.

If that happens, then it can be a rollercoaster ride of neurons firing and before you know it you have a whole list of worries and/or obsessions from your (over-)thinking.

Maybe you start noticing strange things in your surroundings and wondering about them and how you can make use of the information around you. Or maybe your search takes you into … an actual search. You start googling things based on a thought you had and create some new ‘busy-ness’ that way.

You keep working and thinking of new ideas and what is going on around you, at the next table, what your neighbours are up to, your friends. What is happening in the world? What about green issues? Are you doing enough? There is always more you can do. Did I leave the oven on???

That reminds me. I must remember to…

Your brain is in constant overdrive. You can’t stop thinking. Worrying. No, thinking. OK, worrying a little. But mostly thinking. What next? What did I forget? Your life is a constant and never ending to-do list.

OK so pause for breath.

Chill out for a moment.

Because there is a small danger in this self-help, busy, “Now What?” way of thinking that can cause stress, that can make you feel that you’re chasing an impossible goal (or impossible goals, or at least never-ending ones), that you can never catch up and that you will never be ‘good enough’.

Here is What To Do Instead

Take control of your time.

Slow things down or speed them up – deliberately, but remember that you control your own time and priorities.

When you feel yourself asking “Now What?”, see “Nothing” as not only a viable option, but also as perhaps a very attractive one, especially if you have been busy all week. Go for a walk. Lie in a field, do nothing for a while.

Embrace boredom. Allow yourself to take breaks and relax.

Spend some time alone. Just you and your thoughts.

Avoid world news.

Above all, don’t beat yourself up for not having something “productive” to do – because it is also productive to take care of yourself and your mental health and that’s what you are doing when you take a break.

In addition to that, life just isn’t that serious that the non stop conveyor belt of ‘productive’ tasks has to be a priority. It really doesn’t.