Top Tip #1 – Create buffers between events
“I’m going to be late!”
Rush, rush, rush! There are only 3 minutes left, I’m going to be late. Brush hair and teeth simultaneously, shout instructions to kids while dressing, and try to remember the name of the people I’m meeting. Jump in the car and race off while calling my PA for the postcode to put in my SatNav and let her know of all the half-done tasks left open on my computer.
That was me, every day, for everything. I despise being late, I think it’s rude and disrespectful of the person I am meeting, yet I got myself into the horrible pattern of always running late for everything meaning that I lived in permanent stress.
Meals also became a problem as I crammed my diary so full that I often forgot to allow for meal or comfort breaks. Many days I would conduct back to back meetings.
This was the first essential change I had to make in taking my life back and reducing stress. I had to learn to create buffers between all calendar events.
Practically, this meant have a get ready time and a start time as well as diarising meal times on busy days. Some meetings required me to be extra ‘produced’ so I needed to allow time for hair and makeup, especially if I was speaking at an event or doing on-camera work. Doing my makeup in the car is dangerous and was not an option!
It’s a mindset too
I also realised that I could very quickly lead a much more peaceful life by changing my mindset before I even changed my diary. If I constantly said, “I’m going to be late!” then guess what, I was late. If I got in my car, took a deep breath and said, “I am going to enjoy this drive through the beautiful countryside,” then I really and truly did enjoy the drive. I would arrive at the venue when I arrived and once I got in my car I could not control that but how I arrived was fully within my control. I will go into mindset in more detail as it deserve a post of it’s own, but for now, let’s all agree to enjoy our journey rather than race from place to place all stressed out.
What’s your top tip for destressing your life? I would love to know what works for you too.
See all Stress-Free Living posts here.
The Stress-Free Living series is part of my Menopause Musings because stress has a mahoosive impact on Menopause. Read all my Menopause Musings here.