With all of lifes’ responsibilities and goals, who isn’t dealing with the feeling of overwhelm? Most of us, myself included, deal with it on a weekly, if not daily, basis. There are just too many things to do and not enough hours in the day to do them. You want to be a caring wife, an attentive mother, a supportive friend, a career woman that excels, all with a clean house, home-cooked meals, while taking care of yourself at the same time. (Over-achieve, much)? Just thinking about it is overwhelming. So what do you do when the feeling of overwhelm taking over? You do one of three things – you automate it, delegate it, or you eliminate it.
Automate
Take an inventory of your daily or weekly responsibilities. They most likely include grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, right? Are there any of these things that you could automate that would free up some time in your day? Could you use a grocery delivery service (like Shipt) to have someone handle the shopping for you? What about setting up a meal delivery service (like HelloFresh) to make dinnertime easier? Is it possible to have your laundry picked up and sent out bi-weekly to free up some time? Whatever it may be, I’m sure there are a few adjustments you can make to put systems in place. This way you free up your time and energy, which you can spend elsewhere.
Delegate
This one is a hard one for me. The automation is easier. I have no problem putting automated systems in place to alleviate some stress from my day. Delegating tasks to other people is much tougher. (Maybe I’m a bit of a control freak!) It’s hard for me to trust tasks with other people, but sometimes, it needs to be done for the greater good. If you struggle with this too, you’ll know right away which tasks are ok to pass off, and which ones you’ll want to handle on your own.
Enlist your husband for help. Let him know you’re overwhelmed and ask him to take over a few things for you. Maybe he handles bath time, or he’s responsible for dinner twice a week. Are your kids old enough for chores? Give them responsibilities they can handle. Taking out the trash, feeding the dog, collecting the mail and sorting it. Anything that can free up time for you that others can help with will make a huge difference. Whatever it is, make sure you’re fully ok with letting the person you delegate to handle it how they choose – no micro-managing.
Eliminate
Ok, I know I said that delegating was hard for me, but for some of you, eliminating things from your life is going to be a real struggle. If you’re anything like me, you want to help wherever you can. A friend needs you to help them move, the kids school wants you to join the PTA, a friend wants to meet for dinner, another mom wants to set up a playdate – the list is never-ending.
The thing is, by saying yes to everyone else, you’re essentially saying no to yourself. All of the time you spend doing all of the “extras” takes away from time you could be spending doing what is most important to you. You’re going to have to learn to say no. Cut out the things that aren’t serving you, and move on. No one is going to hate you for not attending the 3rd birthday party this month from a kid at daycare you barely know – trust me.
Say goodbye to overwhelm for good
Every time you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or consumed by the things on your to-do list or calendar, take a minute and run through this list. Ask yourself, can I automate this? Can I delegate this? Can I eliminate this? I promise you that these small adjustments will make a big difference in your overall mood, and will be well worth it.
