So often, I feel like I am living life at full speed. I have goals, progress, and changes I am working towards. I am in the last stretch of my current school year, and I am eagerly looking towards summer and all the things I will be able to do with more time. I also know that I am busy for almost all of April, which also makes me want to look forward.

In these moments, however, I am reminded that I need to take life one day at a time. If I try to move faster than that, I tend to become stressed, overwhelmed, and overworked. We are not promised tomorrow. It is definitely a process, but I do my best to stop what I’m doing, take a few deep breaths, and maybe try to meditate or pray to help slow myself down.

I’m a list person. I’ve mentioned on here many times that I make lists of things I need to accomplish in that week. Sometimes, I want to try to accomplish everything in one day. When I get into these moods, it’s no wonder that I become overwhelmed. Because this is a recurring problem, I have developed a few tips to help me and anyone else who finds themselves in these kinds of situations.

• Prioritize the bare minimum you need to get done that day- Often, the events on my to-do list are timed. I like to have my blog done on Tuesdays. I have to have my lesson plan done for work each Monday morning, and I don’t take work home. In instances such as those, I try to work on just one or two things off my list each day. One or two tasks is much easier to manage than five, ten, or even twenty tasks. Creating priorities helps set the tone for what needs to be accomplished. Anything else after that is just a bonus for future you.
• Set days for certain projects- Many times, I’ll put a day of the week after my task on my list. This is useful for a few reasons. First, it helps me know what I’m trying to accomplish when. Second, It may help prepare me for future tasks by intentionally setting aside a day and time to complete them. Third, it reminds me that I don’t have to do it all at once.
• If you’re indecisive, let randomness decide- Sometimes I feel I have so much to do that I get paralyzed by the inability to decide. If that’s the case, them use something random. Roll a die (some dice go up to 20 so depending on how many tasks you have), or look up a random number generator. Take the decision out of your hands.
• Do small tasks first- You may not like the randomness idea. That’s okay. Tasks that are smaller and quicker are often easier to do. It may be beneficial to do those things first. I sometimes like to do the smaller tasks first to work up to the bigger tasks, especially if I feel unmotivated. In other cases though,…
• Do the hardest tasks first- There is something special knowing that you have the hardest tasks out of the way. I feel that it can make the rest of the day or week seem so much easier. I recommend doing this with a lot of motivation. Knock out the biggest problem first and work backwards. By the end of the time you’re allotting yourself, you’ll feel accomplished because you took care of a big task and probably some small tasks as well.
• Do what’s due first- This was a tip I utilized a lot in college. My homework that was due on Tuesday was more important than my homework that was due on Friday. I tend to prioritize my blog as one of the first tasks of the week. Sometimes it’s done on Monday that way it’s out of the way for me to accomplish other things off my list.
• Set timers, alarms, or reminders in any way that works for you- For timers, I recommend ones that you can’t be distracted with. Some people will use real timers. I often use an app called Forest. It plants a virtual tree in the time you set. If you leave the Forest app, your tree will die. Even if it’s just a placebo effect, I like having the timer to help me get things done. I also set reminders and alarms for myself to accomplish other daily tasks. Sometimes I ignore them, but I believe it helps me in the long run. I have also set timers on a few of my apps so that they will disable for the day when I have used them for that time. This way I’m not just mindlessly scrolling on social media or doing most of the things that kill both time and motivation.
• Work harder on certain days- I like to try to be more productive at the beginning of the week, especially at my job. I personally would rather get more done on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. That way, as the week winds down, I have more energy for the weekend. Then I can do larger tasks at home when I have more time.
• Intentionally slow yourself down- Focus on the next hour, minute, or even breath. Ask yourself “Will I be okay for this next [time]?” The answer is probably yes. By slowing down, you can lessen the probability of a freak-out. This also works if you are struggling to even get started on a task. Work on something for five minutes. Five minutes of cleaning is better than no minutes of cleaning. Shorten it down for as much as you need. Do one minute or thirty seconds. It can seem daunting to perform a large task. Working in a shorter amount of time can make the task more palatable.
• Break the task into as many steps as possible- Laundry is one of my least favorite chores. I struggle to do my laundry. I may write “Laundry” in my to-do list. However, it involves three steps. I have to put clothes in the washer, put clothes in the dryer, and put the clothes away. Most of the time, I will put all three of those as separate tasks in my list. This way, even if I don’t put my laundry away and thus complete the overarching task of “laundry”, I still have clean clothes. Chunking it into smaller pieces tells my brain that I accomplished two small tasks instead of not doing one big task.
• Lastly, give yourself grace- My brain tries to make me believe I’m superhuman. It wants to tell me that I can do everything in one day. The truth is that I can’t. There is only limited time in the day. I work a full-time job. That job can be stressful and draining. I may get home and have nothing left in my tank. Or I may be out of motivation. Most of the time, I can’t force motivation. If there is none in there for me, then I probably won’t be able to get many things done. I have to remind myself that I am not a failure on those days. Many of my tasks are not under time constraints, or they have a longer deadline. Those don’t all have to be accomplished at the same time. They can wait until a later time.

I write this way more for myself than for anyone else. This is my way of slowing myself down. I want to do it all. I want to look forward to the next thing. But I have to slow things down and take it one day at a time. Any more than that only harms my mental health. I have some large projects in the works that I’ll talk about when the time comes. Some of those projects have me really excited but I need to remind myself that I need to take things one day at a time until I get to a place I can work on those things more. So I write this for myself and I work to apply these tips in my own life too. I don’t think I’m the only one who benefits from this though. If you find this helpful, please feel free to reach out and let me know! Do what works for you because we all accomplish things in our own way. However, I know each and every person is capable of great things!