Do you feel overwhelmed with work-life blending?
While we all have the same 24 hours in a day, being able to use time effectively is a real challenge for many people. With the demands of work and personal life—not to mention digital distractions from phones, texting, social media, and more, it’s no wonder we’re so stressed out!
Here are five ways to beat overwhelm and give yourself the gift of self-care:
- Pow Wow with yourself to get grounded (preferably in the morning as it sets the tone for the day)
It’s been said that the first one to two hours of the day can beat four or five hours of work in the afternoon in terms of productivity because you’re more focused, decision fatigue hasn’t set in yet, and you have a less chance of being interrupted. Research out of Penn State showed most people are easily distracted from noon to 4pm.
You know how people in the personal finance world say you should pay yourself first? Well, I believe you should pay yourself first in TIME. You can do this during the first hour of your day, whether that be 5, 10, or 30 minutes where you focus on self-care so you’re not running on empty the rest of the day.
What should you do during this pow-wow? It could be anything, journaling, prayer if you’re faith-based, meditation, yoga, or running. Whatever activity you do, it’s important to have a routine and stick to it at the same time in the morning. Get your day started off right so that when you look back everything you accomplished, you remember having created this easy win for yourself as soon as the day began.
- Purpose Focused
Why are you doing what you’re doing? What gets you up in the morning to start a new day? Having a 30,000-foot airplane view—OR a big WHY (in Simon Sinek terms can help keep things in perspective when micro-decisions pop up on a day-to-day basis.
- Prioritize
When you know what you need to do in order to accomplish your why or big vision, you will be able to prioritize your top tasks of the day also known as your Most Important Tasks or “MIT’s.”
Your MIT’s are the top tasks you want to accomplish in a day and you should strive to get your top 3 of done before 11am. This also helps stave off decision fatigue which happens as the day progresses and it becomes harder to make decisions because you’re worn out from distractions.
- Pomodoro Your Time
What is the Pomodoro Method? It’s a time management hack that allows you to work in short time blocks. You do 25 minutes of focused work, then take a 5-minute work break to stretch, go to the bathroom, check your phone, etc. Then you go back to work for another 25-minute session, followed by another 5-minute break. Once you are done with each session, you give yourself a check mark, and tally how many you did at the end of the day. On a good day, I’ll get about 12-13 of these total.
- Power Off
By constantly scrolling on social media and checking out other people’s updates, you could be losing out on YOUR own life. Set aside time to step away from your digital devices. Go for a hike, a yoga retreat, or a cooking class. Maybe you stay local and check out that new restaurant or that indie bookstore you’ve been eyeing. Come to in-person events, like BlogHer where ! You can meet other like-minded people in real life and potentially come away with ideas and best practices you could implement into your own life or skill set by putting down your phone. You may also come away with cool new pictures to show on your Instagram feed (as you can see below)!
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In short, do what WORKS best for you and your situation. Out of all these tips, which one will you apply this week?
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Lori Rochino stumbled upon podcasting two years ago and has been hooked since. She created Simply Designed Life Podcast for entrepreneurs who want to simplify their busy lives in order to make room for the things that matter. She is a podcast & productivity coach with a corporate marketing background. She is the author of Fifty Shades of Simple: How to Prioritize in the Age of Information Overload. Her work has appeared in both national (SUCCESS, Huffington Post, YFS Magazine) and local (Philadelphia Style Magazine and Examiner) outlets. She lives in the greater Philadelphia area with her family.
Lori also has a 4-Day Kickstarter to Zen-Like, Productive Habits. The 4-day audio course is designed to help you stress less and have more calm and clarity in just 5 minutes a day with short, actionable micro-tasks you could easily implement in your busy day. Receive one email a day over four days for tips on productivity, self-care, and personal growth by subscribing to the newsletter at LoriRochino.com.
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