Think about all of the things you do in a day; going to work, the laundry, washing dishes, paying bills, cleaning the bathroom, looking after the kids, walking the dog, eating, shopping sleeping – it’s exhausting and with so much to do in just one day it’s no wonder that we struggle to fit it all in. On top of all of those there are the things that we feel we should do; visiting Grandma, phoning the dentist, cleaning the car, school events, the list goes on. Finally, there are the things that we want to do; travelling, meditation, painting our nails, catching up on boxsets, coffee with friends. There is always an endless round of events, chores or demands that take up our time. As if that wasn’t bad enough, with Christmas fast approaching the constraints on our time appear to be all the tighter.  

We are expected to have complete, fulfilling, perfect lives but how do we fit it all in? Well, the strange thing is that trying to do too much can actually get in the way of doing anything at all as we tend to spend more time procrastinating about what to do. So, what magic spell can we weave to buy us more time? In short, none. There is no magic spell and this post won’t clear your long to-do list before Christmas, but the hope is that it will help you to cope with the stresses of life, increase your mindfulness and help you to focus. 

It’s not easy to let go of our own expectations, although that is precisely what we should do. Most of the pressure that we are under comes from ourselves. It is us that demands the whole house needs to be deep cleaned before Aunt Mary visits. It is us that places the demands on ourselves. We can’t do everything at once, so we need to try to think about it a little differently. What can we do right now?  

A very simple way to take pressure off ourselves is to make a list and prioritise - recognise what must get done and what isn’t a necessity. Next, decide how long each task should take and then block off the time you will spend in a calendar or diary. Finally, only do exactly what you have planned. Only doing one task at a time, focusing on it completely. For those items that you can’t fit in to your calendar or diary, allow yourself the luxury of delegating. It is ok to ask someone else to pick up the cat food or pop in on Grandad on their way home.  

Mindfulness is another great practice when we're feeling overwhelmed.  It doesn’t have to take long – just a few moments to check in with yourself. Take a second to breathe deeply, wherever you are and notice how you feel. Any physical sensations, any sounds or feelings? Can you identify the feelings? Where do you feel them? This short and simple exercise should help to ground you and can be done anytime or anywhere. 

Here at Make Me A Plan, we are big fans of the ‘just one thing’ rule.  For those days where you are feeling frazzled but are really struggling to even function, choose just one thing, one thing that will make you feel better. Give it all of your attention. 

The last thing I am going to suggest is the most difficult but probably the most important; let it go. Smile and be happy now rather than waiting for happiness to come to you after you’ve done the ironing or wrapped the presents. Time is a precious commodity that we don’t get back and we waste so much of it doing things that we don’t really need to do. Try to appreciate the time that we do have and think about what would be realistic to achieve during that time after all we can prioritise tasks, delegate them, cross them off or put them off but we can’t do them all!