I didn't mean to go MIA yesterday, I really didn't. With a daily blog, I always like to give a heads-up if I'm going to be away - or at least a tweet to let you know of a schedule change. But yesterday, life just got away from me and I simply could not sit down to write a single sentence! Gah.
See, Tom and I are working to finish a couple of projects for a client as well as a bunch of things in our office....one of the "joys" of being your own boss is that sometimes the hours can get a little crazy. So we worked all day Saturday, all afternoon on Sunday and put in a good day on Monday (our 29th anniversary).....only a couple more days and then we will be done. Needless to say, I've had to eliminate a few things to focus on these projects, and somehow computer time was the first to get the axe.
What do you do when things feel a little crazy and out of control?
When you get overwhelmed, it's tempting to either run away or take a really long nap. I found myself literally saying "I wish I could go to sleep for several days and wake up to everything being finished." Maybe you deal with overwhelm by digging in and just "gettin' er done." Or perhaps you start yelling at the kids or being short tempered with your husband. Or maybe you eat a bunch of Dunkin' Donuts to take the edge off. There are lots of unhealthy ways we cope, but there ARE good ways as well.
Today's Small Thing is to deal with overload by playing an elimination game.
If you are feeling stressed out today, take a deep breath and realize that most tasks can be eliminated in the following ways:
Do.
Don't Do.
Dumb Down.
Delegate.
Today, we are going to do one of each: Do, Don't Do, Dumb Down, and Delegate. Look at the tasks on your plate and see which four could be put into these categories...and then apply them. Here is how it shakes out for me today.
Do: Load of towels
Don't Do: Mopping Floor
Dumb Down (Simplify): Sort papers for next weeks' filing task
Delegate: Dishes
I will probably end up delegating several things to my able-bodied teenager who is laying around with nothing but time on his hands today. There is no need for me to do everything by myself, just as there is no need to do EVERYTHING on my list. I will deliberately choose "Don't Do" for a number of items and be okay with that. Whatever can be simplified, I'll simplify. The rest.....well the best thing to do is just "DO."
What will YOUR elimination list look like today? What things will you choose to Do, Don't Do, Dumb Down, or Delegate?
