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A few weeks ago, I was asked by the president of my company to go and fix an area of the business that wasn't doing so well. I'm talking here the organizational equivalent of a two-headed beast with six horns.

There were so many moving parts and levels of complexity involved with this situation that there was not one person over the past 15 years who had been able to get their arms around it.

Yet however dysfunctional it was, we still managed to get by. So we mostly left it alone all this time, other than assigning a new leader every few years.

But we could ignore it no longer.

"Sure! I'd love to!" is what I recall saying to the president as he hurled me toward the fiery pit.

ACKK!

Needless to say, it's been a challenge. In fact, for these past couple of weeks, I have been nothing short of completely overwhelmed. You know the feeling—numbness, panic-stricken, insomnia, anxiety, and then a strange tingling feeling going down the side of your arm.

Not the best example of a spiritually grounded executive.

I barely knew where to begin or end. I would find myself at the end of the day walking in tiny circles around my office, or just staring blankly out the window in a catatonic state—paralyzed by the daunting prospects before me.

Luckily, I have been in this tricky spot before and have a handy repertoire of practical resources to draw from to get me through. And, no, I am not talking about those little pills in your medicine cabinet.

If you are at all challenging and stretching yourself, you will inevitably run into situations where you feel completely over your head. It's the most natural thing in the world. But rather than beating yourself up for being such an idiot for not knowing how to handle it better, here are eight useful steps to take when you feel snowed under at work.

1. Chunk it into pieces

You've probably heard that old joke from your grandpap:

Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.

Ha ha, I know—not very funny. But there is some wisdom in there. Take that massive project and break it into small, bite-size pieces so that you can focus on one thing at a time. This will help you avoid the oppressive shadow of the great beast and actually give your mind a more manageable starting point to begin chipping away at.

2. Make just one decision

Part of the problem of being overwhelmed by large projects is that your mind starts going to mush. Our brain naturally wants to find recognizable patterns and familiar connections, but if we can't make sense out of the mess before us, our little mind goes straight into meltdown mode.

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