Did you bite off more than you can chew?

We’ve all done it. Scheduled more things than we can humanly do. Whether you’re just trying to get through a busy day, week, month or season, here’s some practical tips for working through it without losing your mind.

I recently decided to launch a new business, re-organize my existing business, start a new band and edit a magazine… all while parenting in quarantine. The thing is, when you look at “all of the things” on paper through your super hero glasses, it may seem doable….and sometimes is is and you just power through…. and sometimes it’s not and you have to really sit down and have a talk with yourself.

1] Is there anything at all you can take off of your list? For me it helps to write it out and then physically mark things off.

2] Stop giving time to people who aren’t paying you. This applies more to the small business crowd but it can be applicable to anyone. In my wedding planning biz, I have a pretty serious prequalifying round for prospective clients who want to book me. It starts with the form on my website where I ask them questions about style, budget, what their vibe is etc. That’s the first step in seeing if they’re a good fit for me. We then hop on a 15 minute zoom. If I realize that I’m having a lot of zooms with couples that flat out, don’t have room for our services in their budget then I need to look back over the copy on my website and say, who am I attracting and what can I do to narrow my focus? When you’re first starting out in the business, you may take more of those calls in order to hone in your sales skills and also maybe educate those couple and try to swing them your way by telling them how much they need you.

3] Time Block - Whether you’re a freelance with a lot of projects, or a busy Mom or a small business owner, put your projects into different categories and then schedule different time slots in the day [or different days of the week] to focus on each category. This saves you from bouncing back and fourth between projects which for me tents to really wind me up and create a lot of anxiety.

Michelle Lyerly

4] When you get overwhelmed, take a minute. You’re much more efficient when you’re fresh. We all know this. Take a few minutes to take a walk, eat a snack [not in front of your computer or phone], meditate for 5 minutes. I even lie down for 10 minutes in the middle of the day sometimes just to clear my head. It’s the human equivalent of turning something off and then on again if it’s not working. Now beware. Your mind does not want you to do this. It will tell you that there’s no time and you’re just too busy and you couldn’t possibly break even for 5 minutes. It’s wrong, take a break and you’ll be more effective and efficient throughout the day.

5] Keeping a tidy workspace helps my brain relax but I know there are others that thrive in chaos.

6] Find out what recharges your energy and what drains your energy. Maybe start a list and when something makes you feel alive write it down, when something depletes you, write it down. That way you can more efficiently recharge when you need to.

7] Ask yourself: what do I really want and is everything on this list actually moving me in this direction. Like a lot of people, I struggle with wanting to do EVERYTHING that I’m good at instead of actually sitting down and saying what do I want. It’s good to check in with yourself on this question a couple of times a year because your priorities and hopes and dreams are going to change over time.

8] You may have to let something go - for now. Look at what you actually have in front of you and give yourself some hard deadlines. I have a running list of goals that I’ve put into categories [Right Now, 3-6 Months, 9 Months, 1 Year, 5 Years]. It’s just a simple google doc that I can pull up when I think, oohh, I need to refresh my website for my business… well where does that fit into my plan? Understanding that I might not start a podcast in 1 month but 9 months is a good goal.

9] Can you keep your phone on silent? If you’re waiting on an important call, perhaps not, but for me, the constant buzzing is really distracting and causes anxiety and also a sense of urgency. Putting it on silent is better for my mental health. A mantra that I use on busy days is “You have plenty of time to accomplish everything on your list with grace and ease”.

10] And the most obvious tip at all. Go to bed early and get up at the crack of dawn. It’s the worst but sometimes that’s the only option!