Happy Friday people!
Do you ever have one of those days when it seems like you forgotten everything you’re supposed to do and suddenly you find a whole plate load of stuff dumped in your lap?
Yeah, today’s like that. I don’t have those often, but sometimes life just gets away from me and I find myself swimming upstream just to keep in place. (Think Red Queen running-in-place analogy).
Anyway, what do you do when things are overwhelming? Here are a few tips:
I sit down and make a list of everything I forgot. Of everything that’s supposed to be done. Then I prioritize those things and get started on the first one. I go down the list in order, until I reach a point where I finished those things that absolutely have to be finished. And then, I dive into the current days work.
Another thing I usually do to prevent overwhelm is something I forgot to do last night. I usually sit down at the beginning of the day and look over my calendar and plan out what I need to do. And I do the same in the evening, for the next day. That way I can also assess whether I have forgotten anything vital that I absolutely need to do before I leave my desk.
We all procrastinate, but sometimes life just interferes with her plans. For example, I didn’t feel well last night. I was exhausted because I hadn’t slept well for several nights. So I left my desk early and went in to lay down for a little while. Well, it ended up with me never getting back to work.
I am giving myself grace though, because if I beat myself up too much, I not only waste energy on doing that, but I browbeat myself into feeling bad about any of my accomplishments, and then it becomes even harder to sit down and face my list of chores for the day.
By choosing to forgive myself for taking a little necessary time for my health, I practice a kindness to myself that I would extend to any other friend. Chronic illness can be a bitch to deal with. I try not to let it become an excuse, but sometimes let’s face facts — health issues, both mental and physical, do interfere.
As I get older, I’ve become a bit more lenient on myself. I am massively accomplishment oriented, and the Clifton strengths, I’m a number one achiever. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize outlying circumstances and I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes, things just don’t go as planned.
So yes, my post is late today. And that’s just got to be okay.
Have you found yourself overwhelmed lately? You giving yourself leeway? And do you have any tips for others that help when you were facing a long laundry list of things that need to get done?
Bright blessings.