You know what works for you

Remember last month when we checked in with each other?

It seems forever ago to me too, and now there’s a war weighing on us.

What I heard from you back then:

• You feel overwhelmed by requirements on your already-limited time

• Most are similarly stuck in the deep pit of their email inboxes, and

• There’s a mutual longing to be reminded of how much we’re already getting right.

So I’m coming to you today with a reminder of just that. Specifically:

1. You know what works for you.

2. It doesn’t have to work for anyone else for it to be a successful strategy for you.

As A students it can be really easy to look externally for rules, and then judge ourselves on how well (or not) we follow them.

I get it. External rules to live, work, eat and sleep by are comforting in a way, like when they were listed on the board in third grade. But it’s a slippery slope between Motivation and Comparison, and the latter is downright debilitating.

If you trusted you knew what works best for you, your work, your personal life and time commitments, what would you do? What would you not do?

My guess is you would do a lot of the same things you’ve already been doing but you Would Feel Less Bad About It. Which leads to the second reminder: your way may seem different, and different isn’t wrong. It may be tough sometimes to listen inside for the answer, or to see what you’re already doing, feeling and thinking as right-for-you without any outside confirmation. But it’s true. You are already right and get a gold star.

For the next week, try on the mantra: I know what works for me.

Use it in conversation with loved ones who ask what you’re up to, and in conversation with yourself when you’re figuring out what to do next.

You already know and you don’t have to prove it or explain it, even to yourself.

You are soo right.

Gallery Block

This is an example. To display your Instagram posts, double-click here to add an account or select an existing connected account. Learn more

Overwhelmed? Try these.

If you’re feeling like there’s too much on your plate, not enough time to do it, and not enough downtime to make up for all the effort required, you are not alone.

Two A student clients, who always have their coaching homework ready on time and come to every session prepared and excited, both canceled on me today.

Both apologized profusely in their emails saying they needed to get ahead of more of their commitments and didn’t have enough headspace to concentrate on our work together—the important steps to creating more meaningful, expansive lives for themselves.

“It’s not like me to do this,” they each admitted.

If you’re not feeling like yourself either, these will help:

1. Overhaul your to-do list. This oldie but goodie post is worth a re-read if you’re buried by a mile long list without making much headway. It’s also worthwhile if you like to hack your processes once in a while.

2. Revel in what’s working. Another oldie but goodie for you. If you don’t have a Smile File or haven’t contributed to it lately, this is the perfect time to get acquainted. A pick-me-up that’s better than caffeine and the buzz lasts longer.

3. Schedule a date with yourself in two weeks. Hopefully the first two tips will clarify what you really have to accomplish right now and what to-do’s / worries / decisions can be put off. For those, choose a time at least two weeks away where you agree to come back to these if you need to and in the meantime take them out of your mind and off your plate. Which leads me to…

4. Cancel. For my dearest clients, that can even mean postponing your next coaching session. You are the one to give yourself permission to take time, so do it. Reschedule or cancel engagements and block your time for napping, reading or staring out the window. Your to-dos and your mental health will both be better for it, and those of us canceled on will still love you. Promise.

If you start to feel guilty, consider instead that you’re trying something new. Experimenting. Seeing how different schedules, changing commitments, affect your output and energy levels.

In other words, change is useful and that’s all you’re doing. Changing things up.

Pay attention to how you feel as you do these and adjust accordingly, and no matter what Give Yourself Credit for doing your best. You are.

What is helping you reduce overwhelm? Share your thoughts here or email me.

image by Kristin Reimer/Photomuse