Overwhelm with daily activities seems to be a common situation in the modern life. There's just too much to do, how do you ever get it all done?

No matter what the media -- or your mother in law -- tries to tell you, you cannot accomplish everything at once. It's just not possible. Your life is not a 30 minute version of the Brady Bunch. Solving challenges is likely to take a little bit longer.

Getting a grip on overwhelm is really about managing your time -- or more accurately, managing yourself and your choices since time passes no matter what you do.

Try these tips to get a grip on overwhelm:

First, Train Your Brain:
In order to get out of overwhelm, your mind must first understand that you -- just like every other person on the planet -- only has 24 hours each day to work with. Make it a rule that you plan only about 90% of your waking hours (including TV watching, grooming, etc.), leaving at least 1 hour totally free to absorb unexpected delays or inevitable interruptions. Otherwise, you'll always be playing catch-up, and that will only make your feel out of control.

This mental mindset is the cornerstone of getting a grip on overwhelm. Bottom line: You can't cram 48 hours worth of work into 24 and expect to feel good about it. You just can't.

Second, Align Your Expectations With Your Effort:
Understand where you are in your life. If you've currently chosen to stay home with your 3 toddlers and run a household, it's going to be difficult to find time to get your MBA at this juncture of your life. Instead of looking to proceed with big changes, look for one aspect that will help you move toward your overall lifestyle goal. If the MBA is the goal, perhaps an online class could help you move in that direction. Or maybe it's as simple as reading and learning a new business task or software on your own. The idea is that those small steps all add up and they take you in the direction you want to go in. When you can, you'll be ready to run towards that goal.

Next, Look for Conflicting Goals:
Goals that conflict with each other will drive you crazy on the best days, and into the ground on the worst days. For example, if I want to be a big participant in my family's daily life, yet I have a job that is structured and requires a lot of face time, I'm going to set myself up for constant frustration. Check all your goals to see if there are any that work against each other.

Finally, Know Your Highest Goals:
Getting a grip on overwhelm begins with identifying higher goals. This helps you to set up a kind of filter that will lead you easily to a Yes or a No decision. A professional athlete for example has no trouble saying no to unhealthy foods because he filters it through his ultimate goal to be a major league star. Eating cottage cheese and working out 5 hours a day take him towards his goal. Studying astronomy doesn't. Identifying your higher goal will help you decide what to do, and what's not as important to you right now.

Fighting overwhelm is about concentrating on the here and now. What can I do today? What can I do right now? What will take me towards my goal, in however a small way? If you can only take a small step, take it in the right direction. Soon you'll see that they all add up to a good tight grip on overwhelm.

Kathy Gates is a Professional Life Coach in Scottsdale AZ. I help people deal with the stress of every day living in a more organized and efficient manner. Get more information at my website Real Life Coach, http://www.reallifecoach.com and sign up for the newsletter.