It’s easy to feel this way, especially with kids and a job. I have totally felt this as mom. There are so many things to balance in your adult life that it can be easy to let them take over all your mental space, not to mention trying to fit in self care, date nights, and socializing.
We can look to healthcare to borrow a concept used all the time to decide what is most important; triaging. Basically, you decide what is most important and do that first. It seems simple and you are likely doing mini triaging all day long. However, it's easy for many different tasks to take on the same priority, making your load feel overwhelming.
I read a book, which, surprise, I can’t remember the title, but it taught me that you need to have to “must do” list instead of a “to do” list just like triaging medical issues. These are the things that are time sensitive and need to be done immediately. Examples are making sure a bill that's due gets paid, refilling an expiring prescription, etc. The rest of the to do list is things that can wait until another time. pick just a couple things that are the most important for that day and celebrate literally or figuratively when you're done with them. Give yourself praise for accomplishing the must do tasks. If you constantly focus on the never ending to do list, we will never feel like we can take a break. And during a time of life when extra time is limited, this can take a significant toll on your mental and physical health. When I’m done with my must do list, I evaluate how much energy I have left in the tank and decide how much more I want to do.
Below is an episode from the TED podcast and an ER doc explains how we can triage our life just like they do with emergencies. Same principles of identifying how important tasks are and doing those first while also applying the appropriate level of concern and urgency in comparison to the importance. Triage your tasks to save yourself some peace of mind and hopefully feel a little less crazy busy.
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