What do you do when life gets too busy?

What do you do when life feels too busy? Too overstimulating? Too fast?

I get it, life is busy. Heck, it’s already May and I honestly feel like we were just turning over the new year and hanging out in the cozy snow-covered homes in January and February. It is May though, and with that is the hustle and crazy schedules of school years wrapping up, summer sports starting early, and all the added weekends you’re trying to sneak away for some family time. If you’re like our family, then throw in a move to another state in that mix too. Here’s the thing though, we can let life and our calendars over run us and make us feel like we aren’t doing enough unless every day is jam packed. OR we can stand up and make some intentional, HARD, and active choices to start thriving through May and into summer and feel less overwhelmed. Sounds great right? But how do we do this? Here is a rundown of how I do this with my family. How we are still very busy, but don’t get run over by the schedules and added things.

Our biggest piece so far is the calendar sink. We will do this out on a date night, or after the kids go to bed but at least once per week AJ and I sit down and discuss the upcoming 3-6 days and what they look like. This eliminates extra rushing and allows us to each take pieces from the calendar’s activities to do drop offs and pickups for so one person isn’t doing it all. (This is also job dependent for AJ and I and our capacity for what each does changes and flows depending on what is needed in that season). Max of two sports. So far this is good and will probably need to be adjusted once Jax is in sports also. Reagan does dance and gymnastics. It’s back-to-back on one evening and that is all we do. When that is on break for summer, she then can choose a different sport. OR if she chooses to not do one of them, she can pick one other. But we don’t do the everyday a different sport kind of schedule. I refuse and cannot have that capacity. AJ and I try really hard to have one date night each week and at least 2 per month. We have to connect, stay connected, and it just makes everything else easier since we are more on the same page then. 

Finally, if a day of the week or a few doesn’t have things on them… I DO NOT FILL THEM! I let them be. They will be filled when the day comes with whatever actually NEEDS to be done that day and will be a nice break and more availability to relax and enjoy life. We do not need to fill every minute of every day. Your worth is not measured by how much you get done or how full your calendar is. 

Take the shame OFF and just enjoy the day. 

And extra tip of how this worth was shifted in my own brain and in our house was how we come home after work. Instead of asking: “What did you do today?”, we now as; “How was your day?” You will still find out the what in asking the how, but the focus is now on feeling, good, bad, the gratitude pieces, and quiet times and not on how much was checked off the to do list. 

XO, SAMANTHA