“How in the hell do you get it all done?”
I’m asked this a lot and it always makes me laugh because I used to be a serious hot mess when it came to fitting it all in.
I always felt so busy; yet, the things I wanted to do most, like go on a date with my man or shave my legs, were usually left on the back burner.
What I finally realized was that it wasn’t that I needed to do more but rather that I needed to set some boundaries with myself around my desire to do all the things.
Here are three tips that have changed my life and if you apply them they’re sure to help you too.
1. Constraint
The first step in getting it all done is realizing that you can’t do it all.
Get very clear about what’s the most important according to your values and constrain yourself to only those.
I prioritize coaching my ass off, taking amazing care of myself, investing in my relationship and friendships and being an available and attentive mom.
Constraint has been a total game changer for me. So much so that I wrote a blog post all about it that you can read here.
It’s helped me say no to most volunteer requests at my kids school, to get to bed at 10pm every night, to have my kids make their own lunches, to shave my legs on a regular basis and to start this blog!
Here’s the link to the post again. Please read it – it just might change your life.
2. Important Before Urgent
I learned this tip from business coach Marie Forleo and it rocks!
We all have those urgent tasks that absolutely need to get done (and will get done) simply because they have to.
It’s common to choose to do those first but instead try prioritizing what’s simply important instead.
This is not easy to do, in fact it can often feel backwards, but it’s so worth it.
For example, this week my son turned 13.
It’s also the same week that I’m putting my house on the market, I’m working on a new coaching program that I’m launching soon and I have three Christmas concerts to attend.
It would have been so easy to simply take him out for dinner and prioritize the urgent things but instead the two of us took off for two days to celebrate in the city.
Jacob and I have been needing some serious bonding time and spending his birthday with him is something I will never regret.
Everything else will get accomplished and if it doesn’t that means it wasn’t really that urgent in the first place.
Be ok with B-
This last tip is one that I’ve had the most difficult time implementing but it’s a powerful one.
I learnt it from my teacher, Brooke Castillo, and it’s the only reason why I manage to publish a blog post consistently every week.
It’s all about getting over perfectionism.
When it comes to getting it all done we must learn to be happy with being less than perfect.
Focus on what really matters and allow yourself to relax about the things that don’t.
I used to obsess over making this blog perfect and would often spend weeks on one post.
Now, that I’m learning to be ok with B- work most of my posts go out with typos and I’m slowing becoming ok with that.
Perfectionism used to hold me back in my biz big time and when I got over it massive things started to shift for me ~ it’s been incredibly liberating.
Now ask yourself – where can you make some small shifts in your mindset about the need to get it all done.
The way I see it is that a Super Mom is someone who knows her priorities and who’s gentle to herself in the process.
So go ahead, and give yourself the permission to be the Super Mom who you were born to be.
With all my love and great big hug,
P.S. Please, pretty please pass this post on to a mom who needs to read it. Together we can all link arms and help other moms thrive.