With summer right around the corner, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to balance work, family, self-care, and fun. So, this month we wanted to give you some simple tips to simplify and uplift your life.
Is your to-do list creating butterflies? Are you waking up in the middle of the night wondering if you missed something? Are you worried about how you are going to get everything done?
Here are 4 simple tips to get you started:
Shift Fear to Excitement
Fear and excitement have the same energy. They can both cause butterflies and elevated heart rate and respiration from increased adrenalin. I notice that whenever I’m headed out to an event, traveling, or doing something new, I get butterflies. In fact, I find myself feeling this way even when I’m doing something exciting and fun. You may have, too.
I had this experience one night when I was riding downtown with my husband to a concert. When I shared how I was feeling with him, he said, “Maybe you are just excited. Did you ever think of that?” Of course, that’s all it was. I was just excited! How many other times have I been tormented by fear that was really excitement?
Imagine all the other areas of your life where you are experiencing stress, overwhelm, and feeling just plain stuck. Could it be that you just need a mindset shift? Try asking yourself a new question: “Why am I so excited to be (fill in the blank)?” The first step here is noticing what’s going on and then shifting your energy and raising your vibration.
Get Grounded
Have you even felt like you have a tornado in your head? Feeling overwhelmed and unorganized can lead to inaction and a sense of not knowing where to start. Try this exercise in the morning, and anytime you find yourself feeling scattered. Close your eyes and breathe. You can do four sets of the 4-7-8 breath. It goes like this:
- Breathe in through your nose to a count of 4.
- Hold your breath for a count of 7.
- Breathe out through your mouth (like you are blowing through a straw) to the count of 8.
- Do this 4 times and then bring your energy back into your body, down through the base of your spine and ground through your feet. You should feel very grounded when you open your eyes.
Brain Dump Method
Now, take all those things that were flying around in your head and write them down. Get them on paper and out of your head. Now sort through them and list them under three categories:
- Important and Urgent – Write the things here that you must do and that need to be done right away.
- Important and Not Urgent – Write the things here that are important, but you can schedule them later in your calendar.
- Not Important – List everything else here.
Take the Best and Leave the Rest
Look at your list and get rid of anything that you can delegate or simply eliminate.
Schedule the remaining items and stay focused until they are completed.
If you tend to get distracted with managing projects, this would be the time to consider hiring a coach or an assistant who can help you manage projects so you can focus on what you do best.
Once you have your goals, projects, and tasks identified and prioritized, you can add timelines and deadlines. Remember, clarity and focus will lead to confidence, completion, and ease!
To go deeper on this theme of making space for what energizes you, I’m interviewing author, Colleen Kilpatrick who will be sharing tips from her brand-new book, Eliminate What You Tolerate, and Clutter Elimination Expert, Chantal Roulea to share where to start when clearing out the clutter and how to make it a fun and freeing activity. We look forward to having you join us for these two outstanding shows.
Katana Abbott, CFP®, is a Retirement Income Coach and Certified Social Security Claiming Specialist, founder of the Midlife Millionaire® Solution, and the host of Smart Women Talk. For over 35 years, Katana has helped baby boomers plan for retirement, including how to create lifetime income, how to optimize their Social Security benefits, launch an encore career and prepare for long-term care. She has written several books, created a financial literacy course, and is a popular speaker. Katana has been honored by NAWBO as one of Detroit’s Top 10 Businesswomen, receiving the Breakthrough Award. To download her new retirement guide, Three Smart Strategies to Maximize Your Retirement Income, visit www.katanaabbott.com!