I remember the days of going through the motions.
The moment I would get to work (heck, the moment I rolled out of bed to get ready for work!) my brain began creating the list.
You know the list.
The list of every single thing you need to tackle for the day. Work to-do's and at home to do’s are definitely part of the list. So are personal to-do’s, like squeezing in a workout or getting a hair cut; those things need to get done too.
[Cue the overwhelm.]
The thing is, overwhelm is really masking a deeper underlying feeling. Tired? Yes. Frustrated? Possibly. Afraid? Yep.
The feeling of fear is almost always underlying overwhelm. Fear of not living our lives with time to do the things we love, time to live life with energy, or time to be present with our people.
Really, the fear is about not having time.
Relieving the overwhelm is key. In my early twenties, the relief was not so positive. I did things like tune-out or binge eat on chocolate to absorb the underlying feelings. It wasn’t until my late twenties, where I started to learn some more effective tools of self-love where I was able to manage my real feelings by you know, feeling them. ;-)
So no matter how chaotic or busy life seems right now, I want to share with you 3 daily habits that will help prevent overwhelm. They are my go-to for releasing anxiety around everything I have going on, while ultimately creating more time for me.
1. Do a daily download. Write out any and every little thing you have to do for the day. Create a massive list. Just get it all out on paper. Laundry. Nails. Copies. Whatever you have to do. Write it all out.
2. Narrow down your TOP 3. Look back at your list. What are the top 3 things that will give you the most fulfillment in getting done today? What has to get done? Choose 3 things from your daily download list. Write it down.
3. Prioritize You. Go back to your top 3 and see if you added at least one thing to do for yourself. Workout? Meditate? Go for a walk? Whatever the thing is that you know you need to do for yourself, be sure you do it. Find a spot to fit in your top 3 today.
I always ask myself, how urgent are my to-do’s for other people? If I’m really being honest with myself, I usually see right away that I am prioritizing others before myself. I want you to get honest with yourself too. Ask yourself how much of your time are you giving away to others before doing something thing for you?
Creating a top 3 has become part of my daily routine. It gives me relief to visually see that among all the things I feel like I need to do, there are only a handful of things that really need to get done. Most of the other stuff can wait.
A powerful daily routine lays the foundation for how we do our day. For those of you who have not already accessed my Daily Routines Workbook, be sure to get yours below. It has all my tips and tricks for starting your day off in the right mind space.
My motto: It starts with how we start!