Sometimes life can feel completely overwhelming. On the whole I have slowed down the pace of my life in the last couple of years but of course, no matter what your situation, disposition, or the amount of yoga you do (!) things can still get on top of you. I had a particularly bad day in this respect recently, really didn’t know which way to turn to get everything I needed to do, done – unexpected childcare, blog writing, company admin, life admin. It seemed impossible. But as is usually the case, I find mindfulness helps. It comes in lots of forms but it’s about slowing things down for a moment, so you can see the wood through the trees more easily.
When panic takes over
I won’t go into details about this particular bad day, but it was one of those days that I was thrown a big curve ball that turned the day I had all planned out and was looking forward to, on its head. Suddenly I was faced with an urgent situation that I needed to sort. But I already had work I needed to do, a kids party I had to plan, shopping I had to get etc etc. I was so panicked by the turn of events, I literally started phoning one person, hanging up when I heard I was on hold, texting my husband to keep him updated, stopping mid text to phone the next person, hanging up after a couple of rings, going back to the first. I was trying to take action while at the same time working out what I needed to do. Needless to say, nothing got done. After about 10 minutes of this irrational behaviour, I stopped and took a breath. I listened to my rational voice.
It was only then that I was able to realise that although I was desperate to crack on with my work, it wasn’t the end of the world that I couldn’t start it that day – I wasn’t going to let anyone down, or miss any deadlines – I had just expected to do it that day and now I couldn’t. That removed one thing from the flurry of activity going on in my head. Similarly, the kids party planning and the shopping could wait. I then dissected the new urgent task in front of me. Who did I need to speak to first to make sure I got what I needed? Once I could see the route I needed to take, I could take each step at a time and start making progress. There were bumps along the way with being cut off and having to go back to the beginning of the hold queue, but because I had my plan and knew what needed to be done, I didn’t panic when these issues arose.
Take a minute and get the right things done
Whether you’re a blogger, designer, marketeer, or you run your own business, if you work in a busy environment where each day is different, it can sometimes feel overwhelming when new things come in and deadlines move. The e-mails stack up, the phone is ringing, and it feels like there simply isn’t enough of you to go around. It can be tempting to simply keep your head down and get through as much as you can when it gets like this, but experience has taught me, it’s often the wrong things that get done in this scenario. It’s far better to take a minute, make a list, and prioritise. And maybe if you’re so inclined, give yourself a little talking to. It helps to believe that you can get through it all, or at the very least, know that all you can do is your best.
Whichever method suits you, by taking a moment you can get far more done than simply plodding through the mountains of work in front of you. It does feels counter-intuitive when you have so much you need to do, but by taking a step back, you’ll be able to move forward more efficiently. And most importantly, without raising your blood pressure through the roof!
I hope some of these tips are helpful but of course, if one of the things on your long list of things to do is writing your business blog, I can help with that too ;o)
