Humor

10 Steps to Feeling Completely Overwhelmed (A Foolproof Plan)

01/18/2026 04:00 AM Central
AJ Flanagan
Humor, Lifestyle, mindset, productivity, Stress & Overwhelm
6 Comments

If you’ve been sitting around thinking, “My life feels a little too peaceful lately,” let me help you fix that.

Because if there’s one thing I know about, it’s how to turn a completely normal day into a chaotic, overstimulated, slightly panicked experience — without even leaving my house.

So if you’re hoping to feel overwhelmed, scattered, and mildly annoyed at everything by 10:30 a.m., here are a few tried-and-true methods.

You’re welcome...

Unimportant Hills I’m Willing to Die On

06/29/2025 04:00 AM Central
AJ Flanagan
Everyday Observations, Gen X Nostalgia, Humor, Mindset Shifts, pet peeves, Simplified Living, the hill I'll die on
13 Comments

There are a few things in life I feel very strongly about. Family. Good friends. Real butter.

And then there are the other things. The little, possibly irrational, completely unimportant things that I’ve somehow formed deeply rooted opinions about over the years. Things no one asked me to have an opinion on. Things that probably wouldn’t make a dent in anyone else’s day.

But for me? Oh, I care.

✨ My blog exists because I know what it feels like to keep everything jumbled in your head — like a messy pile of clothes you can’t sort through.

Writing it all down brings clarity, calm, and sometimes even healing answers I didn’t know I was looking for.

Honestly, that’s why I keep showing up to write — it helps me make sense of things.

Even if you have no intentions of ever publishing your work, I highly recommend writing stuff down. It doesn't have to be a literary masterpiece or even full, grammatically correct sentences... just dump those random thoughts onto paper... you'll see what I mean.

Hi! I'm AJ Flanagan.

Hey there — I’m AJ.

I’m an empty-nester and a widow who had a wake-up call about the hidden toxins in everyday products most of us grew up using. Our parents didn’t know. We didn’t know either. But once you start paying attention, it’s hard to ignore.

Life shifted in 2018 when my husband, Eric, was diagnosed with leukemia — and again in 2023 when we faced a second cancer diagnosis. Supporting him through treatment changed how we looked at just about everything, including how we cared for our home, our bodies, and our day-to-day routines.

We didn’t aim for perfection or extremes. We focused on simple, meaningful changes — reducing toxic load in our home, choosing better ingredients, prioritizing nourishing food, and building calmer rhythms into daily life. Tools like aromatherapy, music, meditation, and intentional rest became part of how we coped and stayed grounded.

Caring for Eric deepened my commitment to living well — not as a trend, but as a way of showing up with intention and grace, even in the hard seasons.

Now I share our story, the lessons we learned, the small changes that made a big difference, and how I'm moving forward. My hope is to make wellness feel more approachable, less overwhelming, and rooted in real life — especially for anyone who wants healthier options without pressure or perfection.

If you’re here to find what actually works for you, you’re in the right place.

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