Back to School
Regardless of whether or not you have a direct connection to
school schedules, in some way, we are all affected by the shift from summer to
fall. Even corporate and enterprise
worlds reflect a more casual and loose attitude through the summer months as
they respond to employee and client vacation schedules. As we near Labor Day, the official marker of
summer’s conclusion, it might be helpful to return to “school” for a little
refresher on how to manage the additional stress that comes with new fall
schedules, projects, deadlines and expectations.
·
Get clear as to what
really matters to you. Know what
is working for you right now with your priorities. If you are enjoying a renewed sense of
balance as a result of more summer exercise, family time or self-care,
recognize how it feels to you and what it would take in the way of scheduling
to continue it into your new fall calendar.
·
Establish boundaries
to protect what matters to you. Establishing boundaries contain solid best
practice policies that allow you to check requests and demands on your time
against your values and priorities before committing.
·
Institute a 24HR
window of time before you agree to any commitment. No immediate response policy will
allow you to evaluate the choice and how it matches your priorities in a timely
and respectful manner.
·
Don’t allow others
to create urgency by transferring their issues and crisis to you. Short of a medical emergency, you have
the power of choice to select how and when you will accomplish a task. Utilize this power by owning your time.
·
Resist feeling
validated by “busyness” and having a heavy schedule. Practice allowing yourself the freedom
and restoration of “open” time.
·
Recognize FOMO (Fear
of Missing Out) and make sure you are not falling into the trap. We have a culture that rewards frantic
busyness that leads to over-whelm and exhaustion. Make sure that you value how you spend your
time.
·
Learn to say NO! In her book, Find Your Courage, Margie Warrell suggests there are two key
blockers that prevent us from finding the courage to say no: 1. Lack of clarity
about what you want to say yes
to. 2. “Shoulding” on yourself…how we
think we should be seen by others.
As a member of your work and family communities, you have
requirements on your time that are non-negotiable. Consequently, it is imperative that you
become even more selective and intentional with the remaining hours of your
days, they are precious. As Holly Mosier
writes…”Our culture encourages us to plan
every moment and fill our schedules with one activity and obligation after the
next, with no time to just be. But the
human body and mind require downtime to rejuvenate. Learn to say no to demands, requests,
invitations, and activities that leave you with no time for yourself. Until I learned to say no, and mean it, I was
always overloaded by stress.”
If once and for all you would like to eliminate over-whelm,
over-booked and stressed out from your life, pop me an email to schedule a complimentary
coaching session. Cheers! ~ Jan
