n this modern-day and age of hustle and bustle where being busy and living a hectic lifestyle not only seems to be considered the “norm” but also seems mandatory if you want to fit in with the “cool kids.” No matter who you ask, the standard answer to “How are you?” is met with “Doing good, I’m sooo busy!” As if being busy was just something you had to be to show that you have a purpose for everything you’re doing, or you’re living your purpose which therefore keeps you busy. Which one is it for you? Are these the only two options we have?

As I meet with people wherever I go, I am often asked how I do it all. How do I find so much time to do everything that I do, people often wonder? Do we not all have the same amount of time on our hands? Are there any places where there are more than 24-hours in a day? What I find even more interesting, is when people ask how I do it all AND stay positive and happy, as if everything I do should make me miserable, not happy!

Let me quench some of your thirst in knowing my secrets to life. Secrets are only secrets until they are revealed right? So, no more secrets, I want everyone to know these secrets so all of us can live fulfilling, happy, lives not just busy ones.

Let’s take a closer look at your current schedule using a 24-hour time scale. For the next week, write down everything you do in a typical day and how much time you spend doing it. Are you surprised at where you are spending time? Do you find that there is a genuine purpose for them, and you feel happy doing them?

If not, this is where a lot of opportunities for growth and change exist, so celebrate that you are now on a journey for change!

Here Are 5 Steps to Turn Your Chaos into Calm:

  1. Step 1 — Time by Design Goggles

We must look at our day using “Time by Design” goggles. Little by little in your 24-hour time scale, limit those activities where you feel you don’t find a purpose in or a purpose for, meaning someone else can do them and it really wouldn’t make a difference to anyone, even to you. You were just doing it because you felt that you had to, or someone asked you or wanted you to, or you don’t know anyone else that can take it over.

  1. Step 2 — Identify Your Blah Tasks

What tasks should you NOT be doing because when you do them, they just end up being and feeling like BLAH? As women, you can have it all, but you don’t have to DO it all!

  1. Step 3 — Friends with Purpose (nope I didn’t say benefits)

So, not all of us have a closed knit group of friends like the Friends show where we all find purpose in being friends. Take a look at your social circle. Are you spending time in your day, week, or month where you find no fulfilling purpose in being with that person or group? Do you feel that you are serving a positive purpose in their life, or them in yours? If the answer to both is no, then it may be time to re-think those relationships, or at the least how much time you spend on them.

  1. Step 4 — Design Your Career (no it is not impossible)

I know I saved the hardest for last. This may be the area where most of us are spending a significant chunk of our time, energy, and mental focus which ties into our emotional components and our physical energy. Why would you NOT put finding a genuine and true purpose in your job or profession where you feel excited and eager to go to work or do your work every day as a PRIORITY? If it’s a primary cause of feeling burned out, overwhelmed, or not fulfilled in life, it may be time to rethink your job, your company, or even your occupation.

  1. Step 5 — Finding Ways to be Fulfilled

One of the primary reasons why we feel overwhelmed is as humans, we tend to oversell ourselves to other people, things, or activities, meaning we want to do a lot and feel that we can.

At the beginning of the day, we think of 100 tasks we “must” do in a day. Maybe, we get through 50 of them. At the end of the day, we blame or feel sorry for ourselves that we did NOT do the 50 other tasks we wanted to do.

Instead, try this. At the beginning of the day, write down on your 24-hour time scale journal the five things you “must” do that day (they can range from the smallest task or action to big tasks) but they must be things you feel you can and will conquer that day (so nothing too extravagant). Then write down a list of “Nice to Dos” and put the other tasks and actions that if you really had the time and would feel happy doing them you can. Now, at the end of the day, look at the five things you said you must do, and you were capable of doing. If you completed all five or even three, give yourself massive kudos and genuinely feel grateful for your amazing mind, body, and energy.

As a last note, always try to have at least one “must-do” action as something that genuinely makes you joyous and happy inside (e.g. exercising, meditation, spending time with your kids or husband, your passions, etc.). Feel truly grateful that you were able to do this “activity.”

For more tips, techniques, and free resources that change your life, check The Wellness Universe today.

– Jothi