Overwhelmed? Try these.

If you’re feeling like there’s too much on your plate, not enough time to do it, and not enough downtime to make up for all the effort required, you are not alone.

Two A student clients, who always have their coaching homework ready on time and come to every session prepared and excited, both canceled on me today.

Both apologized profusely in their emails saying they needed to get ahead of more of their commitments and didn’t have enough headspace to concentrate on our work together—the important steps to creating more meaningful, expansive lives for themselves.

“It’s not like me to do this,” they each admitted.

If you’re not feeling like yourself either, these will help:

1. Overhaul your to-do list. This oldie but goodie post is worth a re-read if you’re buried by a mile long list without making much headway. It’s also worthwhile if you like to hack your processes once in a while.

2. Revel in what’s working. Another oldie but goodie for you. If you don’t have a Smile File or haven’t contributed to it lately, this is the perfect time to get acquainted. A pick-me-up that’s better than caffeine and the buzz lasts longer.

3. Schedule a date with yourself in two weeks. Hopefully the first two tips will clarify what you really have to accomplish right now and what to-do’s / worries / decisions can be put off. For those, choose a time at least two weeks away where you agree to come back to these if you need to and in the meantime take them out of your mind and off your plate. Which leads me to…

4. Cancel. For my dearest clients, that can even mean postponing your next coaching session. You are the one to give yourself permission to take time, so do it. Reschedule or cancel engagements and block your time for napping, reading or staring out the window. Your to-dos and your mental health will both be better for it, and those of us canceled on will still love you. Promise.

If you start to feel guilty, consider instead that you’re trying something new. Experimenting. Seeing how different schedules, changing commitments, affect your output and energy levels.

In other words, change is useful and that’s all you’re doing. Changing things up.

Pay attention to how you feel as you do these and adjust accordingly, and no matter what Give Yourself Credit for doing your best. You are.

What is helping you reduce overwhelm? Share your thoughts here or email me.

image by Kristin Reimer/Photomuse

Check more off your to-do list

Don’t you just love a completed to-do list?

That satisfying check, check, check.

The issue for many of us is that we rarely reach completion. We walk away from work at the end of the day with a weary sigh of all that is still left to do, instead of celebrating all that was accomplished.

Why is that? I blame the design of our to-do lists.

If, like me, it helps to capture everything in one place so you don't forget anything, that list quickly becomes long and overwhelming.

It’s even worse if you then use it to track your progress and determine your daily success. You’re never getting to the end of that list, because you’ll always have more to add.

So that means you’re never getting credit either for all you do. You do a lot!

That’s why years ago I created a TODAY List and still use it.

If you already receive my newsletter, you’ll soon receive a Worksheet to help you implement the Today List into your life more quickly. If you don’t, grab the Worksheet here.

The Today List allows you to streamline what you see so you can check everything off by the end of your day, and ensure you feel the deep satisfaction of accomplishment you deserve.

I promise that you will also still have a place to track all your ideas in one place. You get both.

Have you found a to-do list method that ensures you can check everything off? I want to hear about it! Comment here with what works for you.