Ever felt like you have too much to do and too little time to do it in?
I’m mum to three kids, I run my own businesses and now and again I like to make out with my husband so, it’s a yes from me.
On any given day I’m juggling writing, coaching and delivering keynotes with:
- sorting out piles of washing
- trying to give each of my children quality time
- managing my own wellbeing
- building an ironing mountain
- trying to pull together 24 fairy cakes and a banana costume for school – in the six minutes before I actually start the school run
- helping build an unnecessarily complicated Lego model (8-12 my bottom)
- worrying my ironing mountain is so big it’s breaking some health and safety convention
- trying to plan, shop for and cook healthy meals
- teaching my kids how to iron
- answering my backlog of three bazillion emails
Full disclosure, my husband once grew a beard and it was six days before I noticed.
Today, I’m a reformed control freak but in the past (and occasionally in the present when I’m not looking after myself) I’ve felt like I’m drowning under the sheer weight of everything I ‘had’ to do and worrying that I’m not doing any of it well enough. I’d built myself a fear prison and spent too much time worrying about not being good enough. It was exhausting until I switched the phrase ‘I have to’ to ‘I get to’.
My first step to escaping overwhelm was the decision to be a little more compassionate towards myself. My default setting was to expect the worst. I tried not to worry but found myself mulling over potential disaster scenarios while washing up! The thought of not being ‘in control’ was frightening. We all crave some form of certainty for certainty. So instead I decided to embrace my need for control, and to only give thinking space to the things that I actually have some control over.
Letting go of the things that you have no power to control anyway is a surprising release! Also, doing it makes you realise just how much power you do have to choose to invest time in activities that bring you happiness.
Want to know how I keep myself on track? Click the button to grab your free toolkit to reclaim control of your life by getting clear around what’s in your circle. Your Banish Overwhelm Toolkit comes with a blank template that you can print out and two sets of suggested statements, one for adults and one for younger humans. Try it yourself, with colleagues or take students or your own children through the activity.
Finally, congratulate yourself on your new mindset. You’re officially 10% more awesome and less likely to tolerate any rubbish than before!
