Day 708: There's Not Enough Time

There is a supportive video on the Self & Living channel on YouTube on this particular topic.

What tends to happen when you're stressed? You tend to get sloppy. You overlook things. You are prone to getting distracted more easily. You feel overwhelmed. You feel like hiding is a good solution. You get frustrated. You feel powerless. Your body aches. The way you think changes. The way you interact with other people changes. You feel tense all the time. You act impulsively.

Feeling like you don't have enough time can bee pretty intense. Feeling like you can't do all the things you have to do - let alone the things you want to do - can be incredibly frustrating.

Considering that there is only so much time in a day and certain requirements for sustaining life and optimal functionality, not being able to do everything you have to or want to it is going to be a very common experience. There is only so much you can do. It takes time to do things. There isn't really much you can do about this fact of life - whatever you can do will be limited to what you have available to you.

Once you realise that there is not all that much you can do to make the days longer you're going to have to deal with the fact that you can only do so much from day-to-day. This realisation doesn't mean that you have to get stressed out about it - it means that you need to develop a way to manage your responsibilities effectively.

Getting stressed doesn't help you get your things done, it's also a rather unpleasant experience. Living in stress over an extended period of time is also not healthy for your body. I think it's safe to say that stress is not an experience you want in your life.

So, what do you do to stop the stress?

1. Stop for a moment, take a deep breath in.
2. Look at the tasks in front of you practically (eg you could make a list of what must be done and what each task practically involves).
3. Assess which tasks take priority.
4. Assess what resources you can use to get your tasks done sooner (equipment, delegating tasks, skills, money, etc)
5. Do one thing at a time.

You can't really do more than that. The key is simple: just keep it practical and take one step at a time. This simple approach decreases your experience of being overwhelmed because you can now clearly see what must be done and how you can do each thing. Don't be afraid to ask for help - this is not weakness. Recognising and acknowledging the reality of your situation is far more a strength than a weakness.