The holidays are here, the year is ending and life is getting busy. What do you think of when someone says the word “busy?” For me, it’s usually something like this:
Busy is feeling like my head is about to explode from too much work and not enough time. Busy is having so many things on my plate that I’m not sure how I’m going to get through them all. Busy is feeling stressed out because other people seem to have it together better than me. Busy is thinking about all the things I should be doing instead of what I’m currently working on.”
So what does busy mean for you? It might just be one thing, or it could be many things bundled into one big ball of stress. In any case, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by trying to get everything done at once—and it doesn’t help that there’s always more stuff getting added!—then read on for some tips on how best to handle your workload:
Table of Contents
Make a to-do list before you go to sleep
Make a to-do list before you go to sleep
It may sound like a no-brainer, but one of the best ways to stay on top of things is by creating a list of tasks and prioritizing them at night. By making sure that your most important tasks are completed first thing in the morning, you’ll be able to move through your day with ease. The best way we’ve found for doing this is by writing down everything we need to accomplish over the next 24 hours. Then we write down three words that describe what each task means: boring (1), boring (2), boring (3), etc.; hard work; easy/fun; etc. This helps us figure out where our energy levels are at and how much effort we want to put into each task—and whether or not it’s worth doing at all!
Our final step is going through our lists together and making sure they’re realistic and achievable within our busy lives (“I’m going overseas next week” isn’t usually an acceptable excuse).
Set alarms for everything
You can easily set alarms for everything you need to do during the day. These are great reminders, especially if you have a busy schedule and don’t want to miss out on anything important.
Alarms can be set on your phone or computer, so you’ll always be reminded of what it is that needs to get done. You can set alarms for anything from meeting with a friend at 2 p.m., or getting home by 6 p.m., or even going grocery shopping on Sunday night after work! The possibilities are endless once we start using these helpful tools in our everyday lives.
Do the important stuff first
When you’re really busy and life is flying by, it’s easy to get caught up in the urgent tasks that pop up all day long. But this can be a mistake if they aren’t actually important in the long run.
When it comes down to it, there are three types of things that need our attention: urgent (things we have to do immediately), important (things that will make a difference over time), and fun or easy stuff. The trick is figuring out which ones deserve your time first when life gets super busy.
- Urgent tasks are things like responding to emails or checking social media accounts—they may not be very important, but they pop up frequently so they can seem urgent at times. It’s tempting to start with these types of tasks because they’re usually easier than other things on your list of priorities—but if you do them first, then you’ll never get around to doing anything else!
Learn how to say “no”
This can be a tough skill to master, but it’s important if you want to keep yourself from feeling overwhelmed. Remember, saying “no” doesn’t mean that you are turning down the task itself. You are simply turning down the opportunity to do it now—which means you can always say yes later on and give yourself some breathing room.
When learning how to say no, try not to overthink or justify your decision; just do it! When the time comes for an opportunity or request that feels too much for right now, take a deep breath and respond in one of these two ways:
- “I’d love to help out with this project!” Then follow up with: “But I have so much going on right now so could we possibly postpone this until [date]?”
- Or go for something more direct like: “I’m sorry but I don’t think I will be able to dedicate any extra time at this point.”
The Ultimate Guide To Staying Consistent with Your Planner!
Take a break every once in awhile
When you’re feeling super busy, it can seem like there’s never time to stop and breathe. But a short break from the hustle and bustle of your daily life will do wonders for your stress levels. Try these suggestions:
- Take a walk outside or around the block. You’ll get some fresh air and exercise, which can help relax and refresh you before getting back to work—and if you’re worried about being away from your desk for too long, feel free to use the restroom during this break!
- Do something that makes you happy. This can be anything from taking a nap on your couch while binge-watching Netflix (or whatever else makes you happy) to exercising at home with one of these affordable pieces of equipment (which I personally LOVE). Just make sure not to let yourself fall into any bad habits with this one…
- Run errands like going grocery shopping or getting gas in order to spend more time away from the office/your computer screen where possible because even though those tasks might seem boring when compared against other things going on in life right now like work deadlines or family obligations – doing them will give us less stress overall later down road when we start feeling overwhelmed again due out lack thereof having gotten rid some what earlier!
Don’t stress over little things
There’s a saying that goes, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” To some extent, this is true. When you’re feeling overwhelmed in life—and especially when it comes to your work—it’s important not to stress over things that don’t matter.
It’s easy to let minor problems or annoyances get under your skin and make you want to pull out all of your hair. You tell yourself that these things are important because they’re bothering you so much and taking up valuable time in your day. But really, if something doesn’t make sense or needs fixing right away, it may be worth taking action on it. However, if there’s no real urgency behind addressing something on your list of priorities then just don’t worry about it!
If you get behind, pick yourself back up and move forward
- If you get behind, pick yourself back up and move forward.
You can’t change the past, but you can change the future. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed and stressed when you’re in a situation where there’s too much going on. But if this happens often enough that it becomes normal, then it’s time for some changes. You don’t have to let things get so out of control that they ruin your life—and here’s how not to do it:
- You will always feel better about yourself when things are organized rather than chaotic.
Many of the tips here are about keeping your mental health in check so that you can effectively manage a busy schedule.
Many of the tips here are about keeping your mental health in check so that you can effectively manage a busy schedule. When you’re feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, it’s easy to make bad decisions or just forget important things. Stress can also exacerbate existing health problems, cause insomnia and anxiety, or even lead to depression or suicide.
So how do you prevent all these problems? The answer is simple: take care of yourself! It’s hard enough to get through life without having to worry about how much time we spend on work versus spending time with family and friends; let alone doing things like eating right, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep (or at least trying). But if we want to remain healthy as well as productive during our busy lives then we need some kind of balance between work obligations
Conclusion
We hope this article gave you some helpful tips for keeping your life in order when it’s just plain crazy. Sometimes it can feel like everything is falling apart and we don’t know how to keep up with all the demands on our time, but if we stick to the plan outlined above then things will work out. The key is to prioritize what’s important for each day so that you can make sure nothing slips through the cracks—and remember that taking breaks from time-consuming tasks will help keep us sane!
If you liked this post, I would encourage you to go check out my course Productive Game Plan.
