1.
Consider
getting a work-from-home job.
If you’re really feeling overwhelmed and feeling like there just aren’t enough
hours in a day for you to get everything done, then consider getting a job
where you can work from home or have more flexible hours. Though you will have
to work just as hard at home, you will have the luxury of avoiding a long
commute and you may be able to find more flexible hours that fit your schedule.
- Working from home isn’t for everybody. You have to be hardworking and self-motivated to be able to take the work seriously.
2.
Consider a
radical change. Maybe working a 70-hour-a-week job
just isn’t the thing you want. Maybe you want to switch career paths all
together. Maybe your relationship isn’t bringing you satisfaction anymore but
it’s sucking up all of your time. Maybe you love your job, but the 2-hour
commute a day is killing you and you may need to move. Take a look at the big
picture and see if there are any major changes you can make that can help you
feel in control.
3.
Be more
selfish. That’s right. Stop doing things
because your mother/bestfriend/co-worker/neighbor really need you to do them.
Do them because it’s what you want to do to make your life feel meaningful and
manageable. Commit to yourself before you commit to anyone else and make sure
you don’t overbook yourself just to fit someone else’s needs.
- It’s important to learn to say no to people and to stop feeling guilty about it. If you say yes to everyone else, you’ll always be saying no to yourself.
4.
Try to
monetize your passion. Do you
really love photography, writing, interior decorating, or cooking? It’s a
pretty radical step, but see if you can actually make money doing it, if not
making a full living out of it. It may seem like a stretch, but if you have the
talent and are willing to put in more time to pursue your dreams, then imagine
how rewarded you’ll feel when you get to spend more time doing what you love
and to make money from doing it.
- You may be feeling overwhelmed because you’re trying to make time to succeed in a career you don’t really care about as well as make time for pursuing your passion. This is a great way to change that.
5.
Do a “time
audit” on your life. At the beginning of your week,
start tracking how you spend every hour of your life. Be honest: if you spent
half an hour texting your BFF or deciding what to wear, write it down. If you
wasted forty-five minutes gossiping over chat, write it down. At the end of the
week, take a look at what you’ve done with your time and see where you can be
more efficient, which things you can cut out, and what you’d like to do more.
Then, create a “dream week” for yourself and try to follow it the following
week.
- You may find that you spent a total of two hours emailing people. Can you cut that down to one hour and make an extra hour for exercise?
- If you see that you’ve spent sixty hours doing work, it may be time to think about taking down your hours.
6.
Ask
yourself, “What is the most important thing I can be doing right now?” In the classic time management book, How to Get Control
of Your Time and Your Life, by Alan Lakein, he asks his readers this very
important question. It’s a simple question, but it’s very effective in making
you see what you should really be doing – instead of what someone else thinks
you should be doing – to get the most done and to feel the most in control of
your day.
- The next time you feel overwhelmed, take a minute to breathe and ask yourself this question, and you may be surprised by what you discover.
