A Peek Into My Brain

One of the top challenges my clients face is feeling overwhelmed by the number of time demands in their life.  When we work together in our one-on-one coaching programs, we really start to focus on prioritizing and scheduling.  What is most important and how do we make sure to accomplish this task each day.

[Tweet “Determine what is important – then schedule it!”]

This “simplistic” view is a great ideal to aspire to, but it can be really tough to distill it down to just ONE task!  Especially if you feel you have more “to do” than the hours that exist in a day!

Today & tomorrow, I will share a little “behind the scenes” action and give you a peek into my brain.  How do I handle overwhelm?  (Yes, even a time strategy visionary can slip into a feeling of overwhelm!)

About a week ago I woke up feeling uneasy.  I wouldn’t even be fully awake yet – but I just felt “off”.  No matter what time it was I felt like I was already behind for the day.  After a few days of this unsettled and anxious feeling – I sat down to examine what was happening.  (Life Lesson – don’t ignore your body!)

What I realized was that the next 6 weeks were exceptionally busy.  Please, don’t misunderstand.  I am NOT complaining.  In fact, I’m excited about all the opportunities!  But, I realized that there are NOT enough hours is a day for me to personally complete everything!

In addition to working with clients, I’m also embarking on a few new projects.

  • Presentations:  I have a number of opportunities to speak directly to professionals that really need and want to hear my message – these are the groups I serve the best.  With that excitement comes the realization that I have a number of tasks to complete – presentations to create and fine tune, hand-outs to design, promoting on social media, and . . .
  • Group Program:  I’m also getting ready for a group program launch in a month which entails new technology, marketing content and copy to create.
  • Live Coaching Programs:  In addition, I’m partnering with two professionals to create two different live programs, one that launches in 3 months and one that launches in 6 months.
  • Professional Development:  I’m finishing up my last class to receive my coaching certificate . . . cue recorded coaching calls, group project, website adjustments, and studying!
  • Social Obligations:  On a personal front, I’m hosting two social gatherings.
  • 30 Day Challenges:  I’m participating in a number of 30 day challenges from list building to blogging to creating more happiness.

Exciting stuff for sure!!!!

After taking time to start to identify the “grumpiness, uneasiness, and anxiety” I felt each morning when I woke up I realized it was related to the slow shift I was making from living in Quadrant 2 to living in Quadrant 1.   Each of the time demands mentioned above came into my life at different times.  Slowly each day became a little more “full” . . . but nothing seemed “over the top”.  I hit “too much” without initially realizing it!

I was moving from the Important and Not Urgent Quadrant to the Important and Urgent Quadrant.  (If you are unfamiliar with Stephen Covey’s 4 Quadrants, I invite you to visit a previous post I wrote on the subject.)   I was starting to choose my tasks based on deadlines.  I find it stressful to work through my day driven by deadlines. 

Once I realized why I was feeling anxious – I could take steps to overcome this anxiety.

Awareness is the first step to change!  (Stage one of the A.W.E. process!)

As soon as I created this new awareness, I could move into the “WORK” phase of the A.W.E process.  I was able to create a plan to leave the anxiety behind.  This included delegating, deleting, and adjusting my schedule.  Check back tomorrow for specifics!  (I’ll give you a hint . . . I didn’t PERSONALLY need to do everything!)

 

Please, share your thoughts.  Have you ever been in a similar situation?  What strategies do you use to overcome an overwhelming situation?

 

(Image credit jesadaphor)