Do you ever have a day (a week, a month) where you have so many things to do that you can’t seem to do anything?
I’m having that this week. I considered running a past blog in this spot because I felt so busy, but I didn’t want to let myself down like that.
The thing about working for myself is that at least half of my deadlines are self-imposed. This blog for example: if I don’t write it for Friday morning, nothing will happen. The people who subscribe (that’s you – thank you!) probably won’t notice. I can just pick it up again next week with no harm done.
But I need to hold myself accountable. If I don’t write on Substack this week, I’ve opened up the option of not writing every week. The same goes for my regular newsletter, and all the workshops and offerings I’ve got on my list.
If I let myself off the hook once, I go down a slippery slope of letting myself off the hook all the time.
Today was the day I was going to catch up. I had a long to-do list that was going to get done. I should have put two things on that list, not five. Then I would have felt like I accomplished something. This is one of my issues – I think I can do more in a period of time than I actually can.
I ended up writing a long and detailed task list, which did help. Getting everything out of my brain and onto paper, with dates beside most of the items, was good. Then I told myself I was just going to write a few lines of this blog and see what happened.
You see, getting started is another of the roadblocks I give myself. “I don’t have time to get into this right now,” I tell myself. What I need to remember is:
Once I get started it’s easier to keep going.
Every bit completed moves me further ahead.
Maybe you have similar issues with managing time? Clearly, I’m no expert, but I can give some ideas that have worked for me.
Make a list and put due dates on it. Put things directly into your calendar if possible.
If the item is large, break it into smaller pieces. Make a timeline for the whole thing. Do one small thing as soon as you can.
Figure out your most productive time of the day and do your hardest tasks in that time period. For me, mornings are the best.
If you keep avoiding something, take a really close look at it and figure out why, and determine how you can remove that barrier.
Take the time to set up processes that will make your life easier. I’ve recently started doing a Friday update. I’ve got a spreadsheet with 8 tasks listed that I need to check every week. I blocked 30 minutes on Fridays, and I go through the list. These are things like, “Update my coaching log” and “Update my business expenses.” Doing these things all at once keeps me from being distracted by them during the week, or worse, leaving them for months until the update takes a painful hour to complete.
Give yourself grace. If your timelines can be flexible, make some changes. I decided that I just don’t have the mental space to offer virtual yoga until January. No one will notice!
Remove some items from your list. That’s right…go ahead and just take them off. Observe how that feels. See if anyone notices. Assess whether you need to put them back on the list, or if they can be gone forever.
This time of year is difficult because it’s usually very busy, but it’s also a time when all we want to do is hibernate. Be kind to yourself where you can.
I recently signed up for a 30 day yoga challenge. About half way through the instructor sent us a note telling us it was ok to miss one cause our lives get busy. But don’t miss two in a row because that starts the slippery slope of putting it off again. This mindset made me think and helped my focus. Even if it was just Pidgeon, it set the habit of daily practise.