I bet some of you are wondering how the heck you are supposed to do less when you can barely get by doing the stuff you are doing now.
I can already hear you saying to me, “Get real! I have a life. I have things I NEED to do. There is no way I can drop things off my list.”
I hear you. I wonder it too. But when I think about the consequences, I think reconsidering that to-do list is worth doing.
Here’s where we get real:
{photo by: massdistraction}
- Spend some time thinking about what YOU really want for your life.
- Think backwards about the steps you need to do to get it.
- Then, reorganize your to-do list in terms of priorities.
- If you need to go grocery shopping and pick up the mail, see if you can combine all of your going out errands at one time.
- For one week, right down exactly what you do and how long it takes to do it. Then, see how much time you are REALLY spending doing everything.
- Schedule in time for yourself, every day, and make it AS important as the other things on your list.
- Start questioning your to-do list. Pretend you are your own personal assistant. Better yet, imagine you are the assistant of a big fancy star like Oprah. Sometimes it helps to imagine you’re working for someone else. Then, think about what you can cut down so that they (you) have more time to do the things they (you) want to do.
- Begin accepting failure and disappointment. When you start getting out of events, responsibilities, tasks that you don’t want or need to do, people will be upset with you. Let them. Practice what THAT feels like.
Making changes in your life is not easy. It might feel near impossible right now. That’s normal. It will feel like climbing a great hill at first, but with time it will flow into the rhythm of your life. If you let it.
Good luck!
As always, I would love to receive feedback from how you are doing and get and give support along the way. Please tweet, comment and share the challenge with those you love.