How do I get on top of things?

Do you feel on top of things today?

By ‘on top’, what do you actually mean by that? Do you mean that things aren’t ‘on top’ of you? Some people describe being swamped or overwhelmed by the mountain of things that they want/need to do. Sometimes things just get ‘on top’ of us.

We humans love things around us to be flowing easily, no matter how comfortable we are with risk or challenge (we are all different). We do really like to have a positive impact on our surroundings, so that we feel safe/alive/recognised/heard/productive/rested, please delete as applicable. So, how do we know when we are balancing our lists with enough activity, so as to feel ‘on top’ of things? Do we use external barometers? Do we have a list, of our own making, that when we have ticked everything off, then we can feel accomplished?

What is your own particular way of staying ‘on top’ of things? Is it sustainable or wearing you out?

What if being ‘on top’ of things is way way, far off in the distance, with no hope of reaching it anytime soon, then what? Rein in on your timescales, re-evaluate your own cultural pattern of endless ‘doing’. Restful ‘actions’ also matter. They are acts of resistance in a culture that worships endless doing.

Remember, perfection is not peaceful. It tells you false promises of peace once you’ve done it all perfectly, but that pot of (peaceful) gold is never at the end of the proverbial rainbow.

Yes, you have plans, dreams, aspirations – let’s aim for those.

Hope is imperitive. But, giving yourself a hard time is such a motivation killer. So, help yourself to stay motivated by taking bite size pieces and get small tasks done, regularly, so that the discomfort becomes less overwhelming and things don’t get ‘on top’ of you. Buddy-up with someone, text a friend and set up a time when you both face tricky tasks and do them together. If it all feels too much, reach out, tell someone. This too will pass, no matter how imperitive and essential it feels right now. This too will change.

I do this every month for an hour, with my mastermind group, The Sphere and it really helps to tick things along. It also normalises this avoidance that we all feel about certain tasks. We all have a complicated relationship with our to-do list and the millions of tasks that swim towards us every week, clamouring for our attention.

Tell yourself ‘I am doing this, at my pace, one step at a time.’

Hold yourself accountable. Praise yourself for each step and pace yourself. Some tasks will feel biiiig, others will feel small, often they don’t actually correlate with how much time they take. Be mindful of which tasks you find emotionally draining and which are actual time sappers. Awareness is key, the more aware you are, the easier you will find the tasks.

Join The Sphere, the monthly Women’s Circle (8-9.30pm GMT – 2nd Wed/month) and enjoy the additional monthly ‘get it done’ hour.