Too much to do, not enough time for it.
Does this seem familiar to you?
25 years ago, at the beginning of the modern Internet revolution, people predicted that our technological advances would ultimately enable us to work less so that we could pay more attention to what is really important in our lives. Today, however, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.
We may be able to achieve twice as much in half the time, but that’s what we’re expected to do now – it’s the new foundation. In addition, technology fills our free time with endless distractions – we check text messages, emails, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. around the clock.
Despite our advantages, we feel more desperate than ever because of our technology.
The solution?
Mindfulness.
Or more specifically, mindfulness in prioritizing, letting go and refreshing our thoughts.
- The art of mindful prioritization
The moment we admit that we are trying to accommodate too many things (tasks, obligations, distractions, etc.) in a relatively small space (24 hours a day), it becomes clear that we need to clear up some of our schedules.
Mindful prioritization is key.
Pay close attention to all the things you do today – all the things you try to fit in 24 hours. How much television do you watch in the morning and in the evening? Which websites are you browsing? Which games do you play? How much time do you spend texting, emailing, or updating your social media accounts? How much window shopping do you do online? How much time do you devote to eating, cleaning and taking care of others? What else do you spend the precious minutes of your day for?
What you may notice first is that you are doing too many random things that don’t need to be done – too many wasted time. Then you may also find that you are overwhelmed with too many obligations – and these obligations fill your life.
You can start stealing your time back by eliminating as many unnecessary distractions and commitments as possible and rejecting new ones that arise. Easier said than done, of course, but the important thing is that you can change how you plan your time.
Next, look at your to-do list (assuming you have one): how many of these things can you reasonably do in the next 24 hours? Probably only three to five, with brains.
Now ask yourself the following: What task would you work on if you could only work on one task in the next 24 hours? That is your top priority. Just this one task. The truth is, you probably can’t do everything on your list in a day, and you can’t do your three to five most important tasks right now. You can only do one thing at a time. So just focus on your main task and find out what your next main task will be when you are done.
Clear everything else and concentrate.
- The art of letting go
So what about all the other things you want to do (or should do) that you just can’t do? What do you do with tasks that don’t fit in 24 hours?
This is where the art of letting go comes into play.
You had too many things that you wanted to fit into your day and now you can see that. You have therefore decided to put only the important things on your priority list. But that means there are probably some things that you think you should do that don’t fit.
So what can you do?
You can do these things tomorrow. Or you can choose not to do it at all. In any case, they won’t fit in the next 24 hours of your life. And since these things weren’t a top priority, there really is no problem.
A problem only arises when you feel fear, overwhelmed and frustrated because you cannot fit everything in. But you have to realize that the way you feel is based on your ideals – the thought that you should be able to do everything, be everything for everyone, and be superhuman – not on your reality .
So you have to adapt your ideals to reality. The reality is that you can’t do everything today. You can only do a few things – the important things – and everything else has to wait until tomorrow or be removed from your list.
Since you cannot have more than 24 hours a day, you have to adjust your ideals.
Focus on what’s really important and do what you can do today.
That’s enough
Let go of the thought that this is not the case.
- The art of mindful refreshing
Once you’ve better managed your priorities and let go of some things, it’s time to redefine how you generally think about the business that overwhelms you.
How busy we feel as human beings, how overwhelmed we feel. That said, the stories we tell each other about life can dramatically escalate or alleviate our stress levels. Reframing makes the difference here.
In a recent coaching session, one of our newest students, Rebecca, a wife and mother of three, who has a successful photo business, told us how she changed her attitude to her life (I share this with permission):
“I used to describe my life as overwhelming and busy, but not anymore. Now I see it as exceptionally rich and interesting. I feel empowered by the challenges that I face personally and professionally. I don’t deny it and I’m definitely exhausted at the end of most days. But now it’s a satisfying type of exhaustion. I did what I could and I did my best. And that makes me feel good. Of course, there are a few days of hard compromises, but that’s fine – the compromises I have to make only shed light on my priorities. I can’t do everything. But I can do my best. And I can do things for the right reasons. And I can give people the feeling of being respected and loved in this way. “
The bottom line is that it is easy to feel overwhelmed when you have a lot of responsibilities, commitments and tasks on your plate. The key is to narrow down your priorities, let go when it makes sense, and then find a “makeover” that lets you see that your life is not really overwhelming, but rich and interesting and only as busy as YOU want to do it.
Quotes to calm an overwhelmed mind
If you need additional inspiration, here are seven quotes to help me keep track. They contain some important lessons that I’ve learned over the years and that I’ve documented in various archived blog posts (and now in our book). When life gets hectic and I feel overwhelmed, I think about these quotes as long as I have to change my mindset. I encourage you to do the same …
The best time to take a deep breath is when you don’t feel like it. Because then this can make the biggest difference.
Stress and overwhelming both come from the way you react, not the way life is. Adjust your attitude and the stress and overwhelming are gone. YOU control how you view life. (Note: Angel and I discuss this in detail in the “Happiness” chapter of 1,000 little things that make happy, successful people different.)
What you notice grows. Concentrate only on the essentials and let go of what is not.
It’s okay. Show yourself some love. We cannot do everything for everyone in every situation. Do what you can and do it with a happy heart.
Worries, frustrations, anger, and delay will make you tired. On the contrary, genuine, honest efforts will energize you. Act accordingly.
Go on. Step by step. The real purpose is unlimited. The real purpose has no time limit. Just focus on the step you take.
No matter what, you can always fight today’s battles. Only when you add the infinite battles of yesterday and tomorrow will life become overly complicated.
It’s your turn …
Challenge yourself today to focus on what you actually do, one small step at a time.
Frankly, that’s all that life is – a ritual that takes small, important steps from moment to moment and one day when you look back, it all adds up to something valuable … something that is often far better and different is what you imagined when you started. (Note: Angel and I build small, life-changing rituals with our students in the “Goals and Growth” module of Getting Back to Happy.)
Please leave a comment below and let us know:
What is the only small, important step that you will focus on next?
