This past week was a challenge.  It was a great week but I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.  Yesterday it all caught up with me and I was on the verge of losing my mind.  I was vibrating on all levels with a sense of desperation to have a break from the mega task list I was trying to get to-done. 

What led me to the brink?  Lack of time and not taking time for my introverted self to spend some time alone gadget and distraction free.  My mind was racing and my nerves were on edge.  Yesterday, I had to turn off my computer on multiple occasions because the sound of the fan was grating on my last nerve and the light emitting from the screen kept calling for me to do something or pay attention.  I also put my phone on the charger in an effort to disconnect.  I needed some time to have no input coming in.

 In this house finding, silence is hard.  I have a husband who loves the television, a boy who always has noise coming out of his pie hole, and dogs that need attention 24/7. ;P  It’s hard to get away from the hustle and bustle.  I’m only a household of 3. I can’t imagine what it is like with more people to have to try and drown out to get some peace.  Maybe other people don’t need as much quiet as I do?  Maybe my family is louder than yours?  LOL

The Set Up

So what was I doing that had me so  busy:

•  Worked for 30 hours
•  Came home and worked on my business
• Hosted Bunco
• Had a power team meeting
• Went to a small get together
• Cleaned the shite out of my house
• Created agendas for NAPO Austin Meetings
• Had headshots taken

A few of these things I had scheduled as self-care like the headshots and Bunco. But the preparation for these self-care items made it hard for me to fully relax and enjoy because I was thinking of the next thing on the list in order to get it all done.  I even try and think of cleaning as self-care, but there was underlying stress to everything I was doing.  I didn’t have a buffer anywhere in my calendar to just sit and unwind in silence. 

So yesterday it all came to a head.  It was time for a break and some strong corrective action.  I started by turning off all electronics and took some time to zone out.  Not worry about where my thoughts were taking me just zone out and not think about thinking.  In the middle of my zone, my husband came in and said he and the boy were going to run some errands and they would be gone for a couple to a few hours.  Glorious!  The times I get the house to myself are few and far between. 

Time to Shut Down

The universe was conspiring to bring me the peace I needed just in the nick of time

Once the boys had left and I had another truly great zone out session I pulled out my Full Focus Planner by Michael Hyatt.  It is my first week using this planner/journal and so far I am enjoying it.  Stay tuned for a full review soon.  I flipped to the weekly preview that I meant to do yesterday, but could not find the time for between work, tasks, and sleep.  So I completed it on Monday.  I love looking back at my top wins and reflecting on what I could do better and what I would continue and change.

After completing my weekly preview I zoned out again. I wouldn’t call it meditation because I’m not focusing on my breath or any of the other things I associate with my meditation practice.  I simply let thoughts come and go without feeling the need to consider them.  So I guess it is a form of meditation. Just not a formal practice.  This zone out was much calmer because I was able to list out all the to-dos that need to be to-done in my planner and they didn’t feel the need to creep into my thoughts.

Take a Step Back and Reset

If you are feeling stress follow these three steps to take a step back and reset:

• Turn off all electronics
• Zone out/meditate
• Plan it out and reflect

Taking the time to recharge will help you be more productive and remove the stress from getting everything to-done.  Take time for yourself before you get to the brink.  It can be hard to carve out that time, but it is essential that we do in this go, go, go world of ours.