Life at the speed of Whack a Mole

Ever have those days you feel like you're playing a game of Whack a Mole? You get one thing done and bam! Up pops another one. You whack that one down and poof! Another damn mole. Unlike the game, however, in real life, the stuff popping up doesn't end when you run out of quarters.

I have many things going on at once. Most of them good, some not so much. A vacation, two books coming out, last-minute clients at the day job, getting a news release out for an animal group I work with are all good. Dealing with a computer issue, scheduling time to have car maintenance done, juggling money to pay for that, not so great. Good and bad, every situation needs my time and attention and lately I've been overwhelmed. I can tell when I'm getting to the edge because I stop breathing properly and I just want to pull the covers over my head and sleep.

Fortunately, I've found a few ways to cope when life when it gets to this crazy stage. Here are my strategies.

1. I can't do everything. Really, I can't. I've tried, believe me, but it's not  humanly possible to complete all the things I want to do in one day. The easy solution to that problem is, lower my expectations. If I schedule a little less on my To Do list, I won't feel like a failure at the end of the day. I pick the most urgent projects and start with them. Anything above and beyond is a bonus.

2. I'm not perfect. I'm going to screw up. And you know what? Every time I do, the world doesn't come crashing to an end.

3. Jobs get done much faster and more efficiently when I focus on one chore at a time. If I give it my undivided attention, chances are, I won't mess up and won't have to go back for a redo. One of my favorite sayings is:  "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"
John Wooden

4.  I make sure to give myself credit and be grateful for what I have accomplished and am still doing. I'd always like to do more, but I deserve a pat on the back  *pat,pat* for what I've achieved. 


Thanks to Terren at Flickr for this great picture.  http://bit.ly/1FrSAdB

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