My Best Tips for Navigating Busy Times

"The power for creating a better future is contained in the present moment: You create a good future by creating a good present." - Eckhart Tolle

Feeling like there’s never enough time to tackle everything on your plate?  Balancing family, work, school, and home responsibilities can be overwhelming.  It can drain our energy and steal our joy.  But it doesn’t have to be that way!  Here are some of my best tips for managing hectic times:

1. List Your Tasks: Write down or list in a spreadsheet all your to-dos.  This frees up mental space and gives you confidence that nothing slips through the cracks.
2. Eliminate the Non-essentials: Review your list and cross off anything that does not really have to be done.
3. Automate What You Can: Is there anything on your task list that can be scheduled to happen automatically, like bill paying or food deliveries?
4. Delegate Tasks: Enlist the help of others to complete some of your tasks. Do you have room in your budget to pay someone to assist you?
5. Say No: If you’re swamped, be cautious about taking on new commitments.
6. Prioritize Tasks: Rank the remaining tasks on your list from most important to least important.  Tackle the most pressing ones first.
7. Practice Time Management Techniques: Set a timer for a task and focus solely on that one thing for the allotted time.
8. Use Your Calendar: Schedule activities and consult your calendar regularly, allowing for breaks and unexpected events.
9. Set Realistic Goals: As you think about your plans for the day, make sure they are achievable with the time and energy you have available.
10. Be Present: Stay focused on the task at hand and avoid dwelling on past or future worries. You may not be able to control your circumstances, but you can control what you think about.
11. Take a Break: Even if you can only manage a 5-minute break, take time out to sit and do absolutely nothing. Don’t watch tv or look at your phone.  Just sit in a chair – outside if possible – and be.  Don’t think about the next thing you need to do.  Sit there and imagine all your work is done and you have nowhere to be and nothing to do.  How would that feel?  Remember a time when you felt that way and focus on feeling that way right now. Take slow, deep breaths and enjoy the break.  Give yourself time for your batteries to recharge.  Remember, we are Human Beings, not Human Doings!

If you’ve read any of my blogs, you know by now I’m going to recommend that you try EFT Tapping for this.  It is my favorite stress relief technique.  If you’ve got too many plates spinning and don’t know how to keep them going or which ones to just let go of, take a 10-minute break, and tap along with me in my Not Enough Time YouTube video.  This will give your nervous system a chance to calm down and your mind can declutter.  Maybe you’ll get some clarity on what you can change.