3 Tips to Survive an Extra-Busy Season

It’s the beginning of SPRING and I’m here for it! How about you? I love the change of seasons, but this year that’s not all that’s changing! Between now and the beginning of summer, we will move two hours away, my husband will begin pastoring a new church, a daughter will graduate from college, and another daughter will get married. It’s an extra-busy season with big life events.

I bet you’ve got a few things going in your life, too–so let’s take a quick look at three tips for moving through an extra-busy season:

1. One of the most important things to manage is your mind. Easier said than done, but here’s an easy way to spot trouble before it takes over: stay aware of your FEELINGS. Feelings are always a result of your thoughts, so it can be helpful to stop and ask yourself what you’ve been thinking to create these feelings. If I can do this when anxiety or stress first creeps in, it’s easier to do a reality check (is this absolutely true?) and shift the feelings.
2. Make lists. Of everything. This sounds like a no-brainer but I find myself trying to keep too much in my head anyway. Our brains are awesome problem solvers and terrible storage cabinets. Should your lists be all in one place? Probably. {insert sigh} But I use a combination of my calendar, Pinterest boards for ideas for projects and events, Notes app on my phone, a paper planner and journal. They all have different functions in my mind. Do what works for YOU!
3. Be early and ahead of time. This could be the #1 biggest problem solver and stress reliever of all the things you could do. Of COURSE it’s not always possible. But for big upcoming changes and events, anything you can do way ahead of time will leave room for all of the inevitable last-minute things that come up or can only be done at the end. When you start early, you can do a little at a time each day or each week and it adds up. Early And Ahead prevents stress and energizes you with small successes!

Keep these tips in your back pocket for whenever life piles up a season of several big events–or just the regular everyday version of too much to do. Somehow it all ends up getting done, so we might as well move through it as painlessly as possible!