My Best Practices for Beating Overwhelm

One of my life goals has always been to TRAVEL more. This year, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Branson (multiple times), Gulf Shores, California, Washington DC, and, most recently, Nassau, Bahamas. Every single one of these trips has been amazing and exactly what I needed at the time, but let me tell you, after that much travel (especially 2 trips in 1 week), I’ve felt so scatterbrained and out of whack lately.Those feelings always leave me feeling overwhelmed + anxious, like I can never get caught up. And the last thing I want to do as parent + business owner is drop the ball on something that I needed to get done.For me, I HAVE to find a way to get grounded, to feel “back on track.” And my tried and true method of doing that comes down to 3 simple practices...1️⃣ My morning workout. Most vacations I still workout, but it’s never consistent and not when I typically do my workout, because, hello, it’s vacation + I want to sleep. When I don’t get up early to workout, I feel completely out of sorts. I literally workout 7 days per week (1-2 active recovery days, i.e. no running or heavy lifting) because I NEED it to keep my head on straight. It allows me to start my day in a positive way, and most of the time, I stick a podcast in my ear so I am LEARNING during that time. It gets my mindset in the right place so I’m ready to crush the rest of the day.2️⃣ My planner. I don’t know about you, but I HATE lugging my planner around with me on vacation. And it’s vacation, so I want to be spontaneous. I don’t need to blog out my time while I’m on vacation. But, you better believe that I NEED my planner to not feel so scatterbrained.The day I get back from vacation (or sometimes on the flight or drive home) I sit down with my planner and spend 30 minutes blocking out EVERYTHING that needs to get done + when I’m going to do it. I also write down my entire to-do list for the following day so that once I sit down to work, I’m already prepared for what needs to be done.Without my planner, I would be completely and totally lost, especially after a few days of not giving a crap about my schedule.3️⃣ My journal. I started intentionally journaling back in August and it’s been a game-changer for my mindset about life in general. You know those days where you just don’t feel like you can do it all - be a mom, a wife, a worker, a runner, a business owner, a cook, etc. I have those days A LOT, and with a history of depression + anxiety, those overwhelming feelings can throw me off for WEEKS at a time.However, since I started journaling and just writing down ALL my thoughts, I’m noticing that I have more confidence. I am able to start each day fresh. I’m not dwelling so much on the things that happened in the past, but making forward progress and anticipating for the future.It does NOT have to be anything fancy. A simple $1 notebook from Target is enough. Spend 10-15 minutes every morning just writing down whatever comes to mind. It can just be your goals or your to-do list, or it can be something that’s been on your mind that you just need to get out. Whatever it is, write it down. This is for YOU and YOU ONLY. No requirements on spelling, punctuation, or how much you write. JUST WRITE.There are so many days where I feel overwhelmed with EVERYTHING that needs to get done, but by starting my day with these 3 practices, I am always ready to handle everything. And even when things are overwhelming, there are so many days where I feel like it’s a “I can’t believe this is my life” kind of overwhelm.PS - I'm thinking of hosting a Planning Party to teach these daily planning concepts I use to run my life + business in the very near future. You can grab your FREE Thriving Three planner and be the first to know when my FREE Planning Party will be happening!