Dear MAx,
HELP! I am SO OVERWHLEMED with life! I am trying to balance all the responsibilities and things that people ask of me. My family, friends, employer, bill collectors, landlords! How do you get everything done in a day?!! The more I try, the more I don’t seem to get anything completed.
Janet
Dear Janet,
What a great timely question. “Overwhelmed” seems to be a theme with many people these days. Not only are people trying to deal with everyday life, this is the time of year that graduations, weddings, summer vacations, etc, compound everything else that is going on.
The problem with being overwhelmed for a period of time leads to stress which leads to depression, which leads to the breakdown of the body as well as the mind. Let’s look at some ways to deal with being so overwhelmed.
First things first: you need to examine how you are taking care of your self. Are you getting the sleep, exercise, diet, and self-time that you need to be healthy and to think clearly? If you aren’t thinking clearly, it will be a challenge to accept the rest of these suggestions.
In order to balance everything going on in your life, you first need to define what “balance” means to you. Which of these things are more important to you to address each day: work, family, play, self? I am hoping “self” is number one.
Once you have your priorities in order, under each one make a list of things you absolutely need to accomplish each day. For example, Family: get the kids off to school, grocery shopping, meals….Work: Eight hours at office….Self: Exercise, playtime. When you get this list completed you can get a good idea how much time you need to spend each day to address important things in your life.
Now you have to put systems into place to build structure that will get everything done. Here are a couple things to consider as you are building your systems and structures. First, eliminate clutter. Feng Shui your home and office to get rid of things you don’t need and to design a relaxing atmosphere for yourself. Curtail overspending, it is just a way of procrastinating on what you really need to be doing to stay within a stress-free structure. And, stop scheduling activities you don’t really want to do. Time-suckers keep us non-productive and overwhelmed.
I have found multi-tasking works for me because I have learned the art of being in the “now”. Whenever I am doing a task whether it is talking with someone or working on a piece of a project, my full attention is right there—not in the past of what I didn’t get done, nor in the future of what I have to do. Being in the now reduces stress and allows me to fully experience the moment.
Finally, Janet, remember that you are not alone. Exchange ideas with friends about how they balance their time. There are also professional organizers that can get you started on defining your balance, building systems, and reducing the clutter in your life.
It comes down to prioritizing, making lists, taking action, being in the now, letting go of the idea of being an over achiever, and accepting that you can only do so much in one day. There are only twenty-four hours in each day, and no matter how much we get done or don’t get done, our TR (Time Remaining) continues to tick down. What is really important for you to address today?
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