It snuck up on you. All of sudden your perfectly planned week has turned into chaos. Forget “too many tasks to do, not enough time” you are drowning in tasks, AND appointments, AND meetings, AND obligations, AND . . .
Everyone needs a piece of you!
You haven’t checked your email in days. The list of calls you need to return is now 2 pages long – and you have no idea when you are going to return any of them. Clean laundry? Forget it! Mail – piled up in multiple piles. You know there are bills in there, somewhere, that need to be paid. But – finding them, then paying them, when are you ever going to find the time? Dinner? Pipe dream . . . you are just hoping to find something, anything, in the freezer to heat up!
This happens to all of us. Maybe you just landed a HUGE new client and the project was much more detailed than you thought it would be. Or, maybe you fell and needed emergency ACL surgery. Or, possibly you said “yes” one (or six) too many times and you find yourself over-committed.
The quickest way to find some relief is to pick a “turn around day.”
Look at your calendar and find the first block of open time (or time you can make open). Claim this as your “getting back to basics” time.
[Tweet “Create an island of calm with a “turnaround day.””]This is when you are going to create a plan for how to move forward with sanity.
This is when you are going to do a brain dump of all the thoughts you are keeping in your head.
This is when you are going to proactively plan your calendar, schedule, and to-do list.
This is when you are going to catch up on email, phone messages, and snail mail.
This is when you are going to identify “what happened” and put some structures in place so it doesn’t happen again.
By creating a turn-around day, you are deciding that this “crazy, hectic, stressful” period of time in your life that has you in reactive mode is ending! You are deciding when you can become proactive again – back in control of your life.
Sometimes you can schedule a turnaround day within the next few days, sometimes it may take a month. Either way, you are deciding when you can create your island of hope in an ocean of overwhelm. Just knowing a “catch-up day” is in sight will help reduce the stressful feeling.
It’s your turn! What kind of overwhelm have you experienced, and how did you relieve it? Share your strategy below!
If you can’t seem to find your way through the jungle to even find a “turnaround” day, there is help! With a little coaching, you can avoid the need for a “turnaround day” by developing a framework and a system that allows you to put first things first -and live a life of purpose, accomplishment, and fun. You can turn ideas into action!
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I need to create this island fast. Thanks, Lisa. :)
Appreciate the comment, Lux. What is your first step to creating this island?
[…] #3 – Imagine: What are some strategies to overcome burnout that work for you? Take a “turn around day” when you have a completely clear schedule and you work on catching up. Turn the phone off for 1 […]