Mayday, mayhem, pande-may-nium. If you are feeling a bit chaotic lately, you are not alone! Between graduations, holidays, vacations, and the looming threat of summer madness, everyone’s schedules are a bit bonkers right now.
With that kind of chaos going on, you may be saying to yourself, “Alright self, we have got to stay on top of things. Productivity is key!” …but then end up spending almost an hour doom scrolling through TikTok when you know you “should have” been tackling the 8000 item to-do list on the counter. Before mean girling yourself, remember that avoidance can act as a protective mechanism when we start to feel overwhelmed.
The same is often true for movement and nourishment; if we can’t do a “full workout”, the all-or-nothing in us says “Why go for a 5 minute walk? What’s the point?” If we can’t prepare the 30 minute dinner we had planned in our brains, we full send it to our local fast food joint. (and yes, we want extra fries because dammit, life is tough right now!!)
Disclaimer: this is not a toxic blog that is going to shame you for eating Chick-fil-a or tell you to do air squats every time you have a 10 second break in the day. It is a blog that’s going to ask you to show yourself compassion when it feels like you should be doing more. Instead of holding yourself to a crazy standard of what you’re convinced you “should be” doing, start here instead:
Remind yourself:
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- You can only control what you can control
- Giving 100% will look different on different days
- If you don’t give your brain and body breaks, they will be taken for you (probably at a less convenient time and in the form of sickness or injury)
- You can treat your nervous system to “preventative maintenance” tune ups
- Using down-regulation techniques while you’re still in your window of tolerance is far more effective than using them once you’ve already left it
Mentally assign your days a stop-light system: Red zone is for the days that mental bandwidth is essentially at 0%. (These are the days you high five yourself for getting out of bed, brushing your teeth, etc.) Yellow zone is for the days that mental bandwidth is closer to 10-50%. (You are able to do a few tasks around the house, but you are not running a marathon anytime soon.). Green zone is 50-100% of your full mental capability! This is when you capitalize on productivity mode in order to make life easier for your future red zone self.
When you have the bandwidth:
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- Work in “chunks” – set alarms on your phone to grind out your to-do list for 20 mins then take a 6 minute doom scroll break. Rinse and repeat.
- Be your own fortune teller – pick 1-2 days of the week that will likely be your toughest days from a scheduling perspective. What are 2-3 things you can do in THIS moment to prepare for THOSE moments? (i.e. mini meal prep, putting gas in the tank, planning to bring your tennis shoes to your kids’ soccer practice so you can take a quick walk, etc.)
- Consider what you can delegate – or just straight up not do at all! It’s okay to decline invites or to give a kiddo an extra chore for the week!
If this resonated with you, book a discovery call for more tips that can help you feel “on top of it”. And don’t worry – we have virtual options for those chaotic weeks, too 😉