Life can be immensely overwhelming and stressful at times. How do you navigate through the chaos with grace and still get to everything on your to-do list? How do you manage a full-time job, kids, side hassles, school, while also trying to fit in some you time in there? Not to mention, facing the constant bombardment of distractions. So many things and people vying for our attention. You only have so much time in a day, so how do you decide what to say yes and what to say no to?
The key is not in thinking “if I just hurry, I can fit more in…”, it is instead accepting where you are right now, and thinking: “how can I slow down and prioritize what’s actually important”?
The following 5 tips will help ease the stress you are feeling and help create an inspiring schedule for your most productive day.
Schedule your priorities
You can do this the night before or the morning of in your journal or daily planner. Begin by writing down your top three most important tasks you want to accomplish in your day. If you do not know how to find what your top three tasks for your day are, then begin by doing a “brain dump” of all your to-dos on a blank piece of paper. List out everything that needs to get done. Then take a highlighter and highlight your top three tasks that are your top priority for you to get done today.
Schedule them in so they are prioritized over the tasks that are less important. Prioritizing your top three tasks and scheduling them in your day will ensure that they not only get done, but will also help you feel more productive and accomplished as those tasks get completed.
Have you ever heard the phrase “failing to plan is planning to fail”? It’s true. Without properly setting up your day for success, you will inevitably let all the little unimportant tasks fill up your day and your most important tasks will keep getting pushed to the side. This will cause a perpetual cycle of overwhelm and feeling unaccomplished as you spin in a cycle of doing all your menial tasks that seem important, first.
What you may not realize is, all those less important tasks will always inevitably get done. You need to fill up your gas tank? Get more milk? Organize your closet? Schedule an appointment? Those tasks will undoubtedly get done as little things always do, but your most important tasks need to be prioritized to ensure they are completed first. Then, after completing your main tasks for your day you can filter in all the other little to-dos you wanted to accomplish.
It will set you up for success, ease your stress and help you be even more productive. Remember, discipline is what creates freedom in your life. Schedule your priorities, because if everything is important, then nothing is.
Be Kind to You
Always remember to be gentle with yourself. In times of stress and overwhelm, it’s important to not beat yourself up. Do the very best you can to get what you need to get done, and whatever else does not get completed, does not mean you are a failure.
Oftentimes getting even one small, yet important task completed can help you feel a sense of accomplishment and pride that you did the thing. This will help fuel your energy into the rest of your day. Getting one small task done will snowball into getting more that you intended to finish.
Also, try not to have an all or nothing mentality. Don’t have the mindset that if you miss one day of working out or not completing all that you want to achieve in a day, that you’re a total failure. We all fall off the wagon from time to time. We all get distracted and caught up in menial tasks that can overtake our day, just remember to get back up and catch that wagon again.
No matter what you do or do not get done in your day, always remember to be kind to yourself. Remind yourself that you are only human and sometimes unpredictable situations can come about that can deter your day and plans off track. Whatever you finish, remind yourself that your accomplishments do not measure your worth, and whatever tasks do not get done are not a measure of failure.
Start Your Day with Movement
Beginning your day with movement can help energize yourself for the most productive day ever. This does not have to be anything super lengthy or strenuous. The purpose is more in the energy it creates in your body afterwards, than doing something strenuous so you feel exhausted before your day even begins. That would be counterintuitive. Begin with a 20 minute walk, yoga session, pilates, swimming, or a jog. If you like to lift weights you can do that too, but save the exhaustive workouts for later so that you do not feel depleted before your day begins.
If you can couple this morning exercise routine with some fresh air too, it will energize you even more and help clear your mind for the day ahead. A brisk walk outside, or even laying your yoga mat outdoors to do some stretching exercises will help ease the overwhelm and think more clearly to prioritize your most important tasks for the day.
You will feel a sense of accomplishment for getting your workout completed before your day begins, and it’ll be one less thing to worry about and free up more time for other things later on.
Learn How to Say “No”
Learning how to say “no” to things is just as, if not even more important than learning what to say “yes” to. By saying no to the things that do not need your time and attention right now, you can help create more space for what does need your time and attention.
Saying “yes” to too many things can overburden your schedule and create even more overwhelm, as you will have even less time to get the tasks you desire to complete. It will create unnecessary stress as you try to appease others by saying yes, because this will become yet another task to complete.
This isn’t to say you can never say yes to others, but the most important thing is to make sure you have prioritized yourself first. This will also lift any resentment you may hold afterwards if you’ve stretched yourself too thin, by saying yes too many times to others and neglecting yourself.
Say yes when the time is right, but learning to say no will help hold those necessary boundaries around your sacred time and the things that give your life the most meaning and fulfillment.
The Power of Finishing
Learning how to finish and complete projects, even if they don’t feel perfect to you, is essential. There are so many incomplete almost perfect creations that often never get finished because of the fear of it not being good enough. If you fear the criticism of something you are working on, remember done is better than perfect.
The world is full of unfinished creations that are truly amazing in most people’s eyes, but are not completed because of the fear that they won’t be. Have compassion for yourself that not everything needs to be perfect to complete it. Your work, whatever it may be, is a journey not a destination. It is finding beauty and meaning in your progress and growth along the way.
One thing to help you finish projects more fluidly, is to simply focus on one thing and stick with it until it is fully completed. We have limited capacity when it comes to will power, so hone in on one task or project until you’ve mastered it before moving on to the next. This will help you become even more productive overtime as you learn to leave no half finished projects or tasks before moving onto the next.
It is important to not get too hung up on a certain task, or letting yourself become too distracted by jumping from one task to the next, without fully completing anything. You will have a deeper sense of accomplishment by the things you actually complete, not by the things you leave undone, whether it be from perfectionism or distractibility. So make it your priority to not just begin the projects that are important to you, but complete them too.
Final Thoughts
Everyone can feel overwhelmed from time to time. Your busy life with all your tasks and to-do lists to complete, and people demanding of your time and energy. You have to sift through the chaos and noise sometimes to filter what your true priorities are.
Learning how to schedule your priorities will help make sure that you complete first what’s most important to you. Learning to say “no” when it doesn’t feel right, will free up your time and energy for the things that are truly most important and fulfilling to you.
Starting your day with movement will help energize your day, clear your mind, and begin your day with intention. Learning to be kind to yourself will help remind you that no matter what you do or do not accomplish, it is not a measure of your worth, and does not determine failure.
I hope you know that you deserve a life that does not drain or deplete you, but elevates you and brings you peace. So make yourself a priority today, and let that be enough. Everything else you achieve is a bonus, but what you do for you today is the most important.
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