3 Easy
Ways to Feel Like You Have More Time
People often blame their lack of commitment to their health on how
busy they are.
We're all busy. But when we give up on our health, we do so
because we're feeling overwhelmed, not because we're busy. Instead
of letting "my life is so crazy right now" be your default, how about
reframing it: "I have too much going on to feel my best as often as
possible."
How you feel impacts every aspect of life. When
you realize the power of taking care of yourself, you're at a significant
advantage—and you'll find that it's easier to handle everything else. Whenever
someone tells me they're overwhelmed and stressed, I always encourage them to
double down on foundational things like eating well, exercising, and sleeping.
After all, health is the ultimate productivity tool—it's much harder to be
efficient without a healthy mind and body.
Too often, we give up what we're most in control of—like eating,
exercise, and sleep—when we're stressed. But that only perpetuates our feelings
of powerlessness.
If you focus on your health when you're stressed out, you'll snap
back to feeling more in control and less overwhelmed. But sadly, guess what
happens when I check in with clients who quit my weight-loss program too
soon because they had so much going on and life was "crazy?" (When is
life ever not crazy?) They still feel out of control and overwhelmed.
Here are some simple ways to avoid that feeling—and to actually
accomplish what we want while staying healthy.
1. Allow yourself to win the day.
Personally, I used to put a lot of pressure on myself in school. I
felt like I could always be doing more, and I was always happiest after an exam
because I finally felt like I could relax for a bit. It's why I couldn't wait
to get into the working world so that when I was done with work for the day, I
was done with work for the day.
But that's not really how it works now, right? Living in a
hyperconnected world is like being in school 24/7. We can always be doing
more—and that feeling can drive you crazy. If you give into it, you'll always feel
overwhelmed.
Here's what I've been doing for many years to combat this issue. (It's helped a lot of other people, as well.) I allow
myself to win the day. What does that mean? People beat themselves up for not
doing more for their business, their side hustle, their health. But this focus
on perfection often stops them from doing anything at
all.
"Winning the day" simply means that I get done what I
set out to do. I can rest easy and without guilt. How many times have you
really relaxed while thinking about all of the things you "should" be
doing? You can't. It's an awful feeling.
2. Pick 3-5 things you want to get done.
My solution is simple: Every night, I write down the 3-5 things I
plan to get done for the next day. If I get those things done, I'll feel
accomplished. I'll be able to rest easy. It's important to give ourselves the
ability to feel accomplished for the day, instead of guilty for all that we
didn't do.
The ultimate productivity tool is health.
"But I have so much to do," you might say.
"Three-to-five things a day just isn't enough." The interesting thing
is that the people who say this usually aren't accomplishing anything
meaningful because—you guessed it—they're so overwhelmed.
I'm talking about three-to-five things that matter or move the
needle on something that does.
The reality is: There are a billion things we can do every day.
We're never going to get to the bottom of our to-do list in work—or life—ever.
But you still have to relax and take care of yourself, or you won't accomplish
any of them.
3. Write it down.
One good tactic to simplify your life and declutter your mind:
Write everything down. I believe that our mind is designed to think of new
things, not the same things over and over. If a task needs to get done, or I
think of something important, I immediately write it down—otherwise, it takes
up precious mental energy.
Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann recently gave this advice to
entrepreneurs:
"Working all the time at the expense of your health is not a
good strategy because if you're actually going to go after something for a long
time as an entrepreneur, having your health intact turns out to be really
important. And a lot of the folks who have burned out did so not because they
ran out of money. They burned out because they became really unhealthy."
It turns out that focusing on your health will not only help your
business and work—Silbermann's advice doesn't only apply to entrepreneurs—but
can also help you feel less overwhelmed in life generally. When we're stressed
and overwhelmed, it's harder to take care of ourselves.
Everything impacts everything. When we're feeling good, it's
easier to be healthy. When we're healthy, it's easier to feel good.
BY ADAM GILBERT
https://greatist.com/live/feeling-overwhelmed-how-to-change?utm_source=CM&utm_medium=email&utm_content=story1_title&utm_campaign=daily_newsletter_2018-05-14_testB_20160817
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