We all have to deal with some commitments and deadlines and requirements in addition to having things on our schedules that we choose to do. The bottom line is that most of us lead pretty busy lives.
There are essentially two ways of dealing with busy schedules: either let the course of events control us or take control of the course of events as much as possible. I prefer to do the latter. We may have to be at work or an appointment at a certain time, and our family’s meal and activity schedule may have a defined structure to it. But most of us have more flexibility in our lives than we may recognize. When we don’t recognize it, we become candidates for overload and burnout.
The best strategy that I know of to counteract overload and burnout is the gentle art of pacing. I call it the gentle art because it almost requires a mindset of gentleness towards oneself in order to use it. The strategy starts with the recognition that our physical and mental health is important and that we can do things to promote healthy living. At the top of the list is controlling the course of events by implementing pacing mindset…
Once we operate from that mindset, we can utilize healthy guidelines to build certain structures into that part of our schedule that we can control. Some of the guidelines that work for me are:
– Try and get your most difficult and/or unpleasant tasks out of the way first. They won’t go away if you avoid them, but now you don’t have to keep thinking about them.
– Unless you are in a state of flow, take breaks at reasonable intervals and/or alternate intense tasks with those that don’t require as much concentration.
– Ask yourself whether there are things that you are doing that can be automated, eliminated, or delegated to someone who may enjoy doing it more (or even be better at it) than you.
– Recognize that we may choose to do some things that others may not if they were to be in our place. If those things become overloading, make different choices and be willing to say “No” more often.
– Prioritize elements of a healthy lifestyle – including adequate rest, nutrition, hydration, exercise, and social involvements – which will maintain balance in your life rather than feeling that it is spinning out of control.
These are some things that work for me. They are not universal; other things may work for you. The purpose of this blog is to stimulate your thinking about what may work for you to reduce overload and enable you to benefit from the gentle art of pacing yourself.