Life is rarely simple. It's often filled with busy and overwhelming seasons, just like the one my family is currently experiencing. Our eldest child is preparing for his final school exams, which has added an extra layer of stress to our daily lives. I'm sure many of you can relate to this kind of situation.

As a result, I’ve been considering how we can simplify our lives to streamline our activities, allow space for connection, and, yes, build in more uninterrupted study time for our eldest son. The question I’ve been mulling over is: how do we create a more straightforward way of life when everything around us is bubbling along at a hectic pace?

Here are four ways I’m reminding myself that even when life is busy, I can find moments of calm and clarity, which, in turn, leads to greater confidence.

1. Remind Yourself What’s Important In Life

Remind yourself of What’s important in life

The first thing I always come back to is reminding myself what is most important. For me, that’s my family and loved ones. I remember a hectic day when I was feeling overwhelmed, and I took a moment to reflect on what truly mattered. The simple act of hugging my youngest child and being present with him helped me feel grounded in the moment and less overwhelmed.

Take a few moments to remind yourself of what is most important in your life. Start by considering your values.

If that feels too hard in this busy time of life, ask yourself, what matters to me? This simple question can help you prioritise and simplify your life.

2. Review Your Schedule

review your schedule and learn to say no

One of the biggest reasons life feels busy can be our schedule, that is, our commitments above and beyond the usual work and family demands. If your life season is hectic, your schedule may be part of the problem!

Indeed, many of my clients have shared with me that, at times, all their commitments and managing their own diaries and their families make them feel that the schedule is running them rather than the other way around.

While a time audit can be invaluable, it might be too much to expect during an overwhelming season. Instead, when life feels too busy, take a step back and reconsider your schedule from a high level. Start by identifying your non-negotiable commitments, such as work and family time. Then, look for any activities that can be delegated, postponed or where you can say no to requests. (Saying no is hard, so for more tips on how to say no, you might like to check out this post or this post).

Reviewing your schedule and removing commitments will not only help you feel more in control but also give you a greater sense of space and reduce your stress levels. Eliminating anything that isn’t life-giving or beneficial in tough times allows you to focus on your needs. Where possible, I prefer to focus on activities that replenish my energy rather than those that deplete me.

For me and many of my clients, energy-giving or beneficial activities contribute to our well-being and personal or professional growth. For example, catching up with friends over a cup of tea or coffee and reading books are my priorities. On the other hand, attending another committee meeting at my child’s school, which often leaves me drained, is not a priority.

3. Remove distractions

Generally, I feel overwhelmed when my schedule and spaces are cluttered, which is why I often lean towards wanting to declutter when I’m in a busy season. That said, I want to declutter, but I mostly find I don’t have the energy or time to do so.

Make a note of the areas that need attention

Instead, I consider quick wins by focusing on the areas where I get distracted, those areas in my home that cause friction or tension. For example, it might be the entry to our home, where the kids have dumped their shoes and bags in a messy heap. Every time I arrive home or go to leave, I see the mess, and it grates.

While a whole home declutter is too much to contemplate in a busy season, I can consider how I want my spaces to feel and revisit what I’ve determined as my version of enough. Perhaps the kids aren’t putting things away because the system doesn’t work for them. Or maybe they have chosen to wear their favourite shoes, and the others have been left, not quite making it back to the shoe basket.

We have all these little stress areas in our house, and when confronted with them multiple times a day, they spike our stress levels. In a busy season, why should we allow areas of our home to add to our stress?

Here’s the thing—sometimes, the places in our house that cause us the most stress aren’t the ones we think about first. If someone asked me to list a few places I think I should declutter in my house, I might include my home office cupboards or my boys' rooms. However, it took me doing the following activity to realise that other, more essential places were causing little stress spikes more frequently in my life, like the entry to our home!

The easiest way to do this is to make a note in your phone's notes app or a physical notebook whenever you encounter an area of your house that causes stress or angst. This will help you identify the areas in your home that are contributing to your sense of stress or distracting you from what you’ve decided to focus on. In my case, the entryway was distracting me from being happy and present with my boys, as I felt cranky each time I saw their items carelessly dumped.

Now, you could do this throughout your home, and by the end of your day, odds-on, you’ll have a rather extensive list of areas you want to tackle. However, that is NOT going to help you feel good. It’ll most likely just add to your feelings of overwhelm.

Instead, just like with my coaching, I always recommend starting small. For actioning this tip, I recommend tackling just one small, high-impact space at a time to avoid taking on too much—it’s a busy season, after all—and allow yourself to experience the calm and clarity that results from a decluttered space.

4. Reconnect with Joy

We are wired to focus on the negative, especially during busy seasons. That's why it’s crucial to reconnect with joy. I often recommend that my clients make a list of things they love to do that bring them joy and incorporate one of these activities into their daily routine. For example, getting out in nature, cuddling a loved one or pet, exploring your creativity or doing something that takes you out of your comfort zone. All of these my clients have experienced as activities that bring them joy.

These simple yet effective ways to find joy amid a busy season can act as a form of self-care, making you feel valued and cared for so you can continue caring for others.

Please don’t feel you need to make this complicated—it’s as simple as finding something that makes you smile or feel good.

There you have it - my four tips for simplifying your life during a busy season. So next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, or you and your family are in a season with more demands on your energy and time, remember the four R’s;

Remember to connect with what matters,
Review your schedule and commitments,
Remove distractions, and
Reconnect with joy.

With this approach, you can simplify your life in a way that feels true and valuable for you. By focusing on what truly matters, reviewing your schedule, and removing distractions, you can create more moments of calm, clarity and confidence even during the busiest seasons of life.

Clarity and Confidence

Making life simpler is one way to feel clear and confident in your life, career, and business. By streamlining everyday decisions and distractions, you ensure you have the time, energy, and focus for the things that genuinely matter to you. This is the essence of feeling confident, clear, and calm while living an intentional life.

Implementing these four tips will help you move towards a simpler life.

But what if you need more? I’ve got you!

Check out 3 Steps to Fall Back in Love with Your Job.

It will help you think differently about how you approach what you do at work and in life, regardless of your season, age, or stage of life.

With simple, practical steps and tips, you’ll have a clear three-step approach to identifying what matters to you, what you want and who you are.

And the best bit? It’s completely free.

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