English: Spring flowers and a picket fence (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Did you ever have dreams of white picket fences? Do you even know what that phrase means?
I grew up while the world was changing. Through high school, my best friend and I would talk about how we would have our houses 3 doors down from each other. We would always be able to run over in our bathrobes and have coffee. We would raise our kids together. Of course, we would have loving husbands with great careers and all the money we needed…
By the time I got out of high school, it was crystal clear that women had to have a career. Everything we thought about what life was going to be had changed.
When you’re single and living on your own, its still pretty easy to pick up after yourself and feed yourself – even if you work long hours.
Then you get a husband and a house. Its a little more work, but hubby usually cuts the grass and takes out the garbage. You manage to keep up with it all – barely.
Then comes the kids. Its all over. You have reached the point of total overwhelm.
The things we learned early on about managing life no longer work in this new world. Have you found that to be true?
Now, I have been accused of over-analyzing everything. Would you believe I analyzed everything I needed to get done? You would, I know.
I looked at everything from getting control of my mind, to cleaning house, to making healthy dinners, to how to communicate with people when you’re so frustrated that you just want to scream at them.
It all ended up being a course in managing life.
Here are the things that I have found to be most important in managing all of the chaos –
You need new systems. Secret Confessions of a Clean Freak is an example. You take what needs to be done, and figure out how you can fit it into your life in little chunks of time. Make a list of what you need to do and figure out ways that you can do a little in chunks of a few minutes here and there. It may not seem like it would make much of a difference, but it does.
And you need self control. Screaming at people is totally ineffective. People just tune you out. Stop, take a deep breath, and think about what you need to say in a rational manner.
And letting yourself go only makes you feel even worse. You have to take care of you. It needs to be a priority. Things like healthy meals, exercise, recreation, sleep, and taking care of your appearance make a big difference in how well you handle life. When you have energy, confidence, and mental clarity – managing life becomes a lot easier.
Here are 5 basic things to start with today that will start making a difference in your life –
- Get enough sleep
- Take the extra 5 minutes and put yourself together.
- Plan your dinner to avoid the nightly fast food rush
- Eat more fresh vegetables
- Use spare minutes to knock out household chores
If you would like my help – visit Whole Life Overhaul and check out the course.
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