2 TIPS For A Busy And Stressful Life!

Here’s the thing: I’m ALWAYS busy – running a business, keeping up with family and friends…not to mention all the household chores and mundane daily tasks we all have to keep on top of!

Honestly…sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with it all!

Are you also rushing around, constantly referring to your life as ‘busy, busy, busy’?

Being busy is good up to a point, but being TOO busy ALL the time– too many chores, work, kids, not enough sleep, the list goes on – can be EXHAUSTING.

Recently, I’ve been researching better ways of how to tackle my days better and have put this research into practice.

I’m SUPER excited to share with YOU what’s been working for me in the hope that it works for you and your life too!

CONFESSION: I’d be totally lost without my to-do list!

I write mine at night for the following day so that I can effectively ‘brain dump’ before going to bed without a million things running through my mind.

PLUS, it means I know exactly what I need to achieve the next day as soon as I wake up – no need to engage the brain first thing in the morning! PHEW.

You may already write a to-do list, BUT what if there was a way of writing that helped you get the stuff done while having a positive IMPACT o your life?

This ‘scientifically’ proven To-Do list method has been tried and tested as one of the MOST successful ways for a more efficient and happier existence!

Read on to learn the tricks!

Step 1:

‘Braindump’ on paper (writing things down is really therapeutic!).
Write down ALL of the tasks you need to complete.
If they seem too large or overwhelming, break out the first action step, and write this down with the larger task.

Note: You may find it easier to compile several lists (for example personal, household, and workplace). Try different approaches and use the best for your situation.

Step 2:

Run through these tasks allocating priorities from A (very important, or very urgent) to F (unimportant, or not at all urgent).

Note: If too many tasks have a high priority, run through the list again and demote the less important ones. Once you have done this, rewrite the list in priority order.

I’ll admit that I struggle with this one the most!

Important activities: have an outcome that leads to us to achieving our OWN goals, whether these are professional or personal.

Urgent activities: demand immediate attention and are USUALLY associated with achieving someone else’s goals.

The crazy thing is, the urgent activities are often the ones we concentrate on most because many of us are natural ‘people pleasers’.

Knowing the difference between “Important” and “Urgent” activities will help us overcome the natural tendency to please others.

Focusing on the activities essential to making our lives easier will in turn help put us in a better position to help others.

“Please Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask Before Assisting Others”

My natural instinct was always that children were supposed to be helped first before you help yourself to oxygen!

BUT of course, looking deeper into WHY you need to help yourself before aiding others is because should YOU lose consciousness then you’ll be unable to assist others (or yourself) later.

This analogy also works well in our daily life. Why? Because, when you’re stressed, you’re unable to make a positive impact on others.

Your positive impact on the world can only shine strong when you have helped yourself first, and you’re happy!

Using your list is EASY – work your way through it in order, dealing with the A priority tasks first, then the Bs, the Cs, and so on.

As you complete each task, tick them off or strike them through, whatever gives you the greatest satisfaction!

Spending a few minutes at the end of the day organising tasks on the list for the next day really helps me relax my mind and get a good nights sleep.

It means I’m not worrying about different things because I know I have it all on my list, in priority!

The word ‘NO’ is very powerful – and can be a positive word!

I first learnt to say ‘NO’ a couple of years back when Beauty and the Boutique started to take off.

For me, if I didn’t say ‘NO’ it meant that I couldn’t get the essential parts of the business done so it was vital in ensuring the growth of Beauty and the Boutique.

Perhaps you can relate to this in your life when you have a lot of requests of you?

I used to worry (a lot!) about people’s feelings when I first started to say ‘NO’ to a few things – I found it really HARD to begin with!

BUT, I learnt that if you can say “NO” in the right way it can be SO liberating AND it’s usually a positive thing in the end.

Saying “NO” is not the equivalent of flipping a giant middle finger…HONEST!!

It’s quite the opposite. It shows you have a vision, a plan, and an opinion. By clearly articulating your needs you’ll often feel more productive and in the long run prove more helpful.

It can feel awkward saying ‘NO’ to start with, but here’s what really works for me….

Identify what’s important to YOU and acknowledge what’s NOT.

Before you can say “NO” with confidence, you have to be clear about what you want to say no to – you need to know what’s in your capabilities, and what isn’t going to work.

All the other steps follow this one.

Recognise that it’s almost never an insult when people make requests of you.

They’re asking for your help because they TRUST you, and they believe in your capabilities to help.

So instead see it as a positive, and thank them for thinking of you or making the request/invitation. Don’t worry; this doesn’t need to lead to a YES!

Remember – you’re NOT rejecting the person, just declining the invitation.

So make it clear and let the person know that you respect them—maybe you admire their passion or generosity.

But never fake it—even if you’re not enamoured about the person making the request, simply being polite and kind will communicate that you aren’t rejecting him/her.