Where does work end and life begin? Or more to the point what life?
In a world where content is king, attention is queen, and you can sleep when you’re dead do you ever have to time to stop and smell the roses?
Are you crazy busy keeping all of the plates spinning, and balance is just a lofty aspiration?
Perhaps you’re overwhelmed by a to-do list that goes with a business you started to get more balance in your life because you wanted to spend more time with your family and friends?
1. Firstly, know you’re not alone.
2. Secondly, know there is a solution
Awareness is the first step towards change and honesty is your salvation.
Awareness that you need a new plan, and honesty with yourself that now is the time to make one.
The feeling of overwhelm is a warning that you’ve hit capacity.
It’s similar to the noise you hear and the feeling you experience when your car gets a flat tyre. There is only so long you can keep driving before you have to pull over and fix it.
The spare tyre you use will get your car to the garage where you can buy the tyre you really need.
Of course, you can drive on the spare tyre for a while, but in most cases, that’s not what it’s designed for.
Similarly with overwhelm you can ignore it for a while but as the quote below so eloquently puts it;
“If you’re in a hole stop digging.” Denis Healey
Making time to plan
This exercise will help you take control of your overwhelm and turn your to-do list into your secret to success.
- Get a notebook & Pen
- Find a time that works for you every day, ideally in the early evening (try to stick to the same time)
- Start by setting aside 10 minutes a day (work up to 20-30mins)
- You will need silence & your goals/12-Month Plan
- Compare what’s on your to-do list to your goals
- Ask yourself a simple question – Will this item on my to-do list get me closer to my goal?
- If the answer is yes keep it on the list
- If the answer is no either: remove it/delegate it to someone else (if it needs to be done, but is not critical)
The more regularly you commit to doing this exercise (daily) the more in control you will begin to feel and noticeable results you will experience. Starting with reduced overwhelm and more balance in your life.