Yes!!! I always get bogged down by things like cleaning counters or washing dishes and by the time the day is over, the “big” thing I wanted to do for the day gets pushed aside. This post really hits home for me– I am a teacher and am currently getting ready for a new class I have to teach. I have been avoiding going over some things for school (which are stressing me out) by volunteering to do a million other things for my husband and family. I need to just block off an hour or two for the next few days and get it done! Thanks for the inspiration!

One of my “resolutions” this year was to work on “being present”. I have so much rollin’ around in this silly head of mine, and I THINK I am multitasking, but alas, nothing gets done or it takes me forever. If I work on one task, finish it and then move onto the others, then I feel better, I feel more productive, I feel more calm. Being present also allows me to have better conversations with people because I am there is the moment, focusing on them and what they are saying. It gets worse with age – lack of focus – I’m 32 – so I really have to WORK on it.

I can relate… My enemies are procrastination and sidetracking. I help myself most by making a To Do list. If something doesn’t make the task list, that means it’s not a priority, and it’s easier to discipline myself to keep from getting sidetracked. As things change, the task list might get edited, but to make the list it has to be legit. 🙂

Awesome looking lunch! I get so stressed out by those little things – but right now all I can focus on is work and wedding tasks.

I’m totally like that. I end up being late to work in the am because I just can’t handle leaving dishes undone or laundry sitting in the wash when it needs to be moved to the dryer. I tell ya, I could be a stay at home mom in a second (once i have kids). There are always WAY too many things to do and not enough time to do them all.

Yes! Thank you! A friend and I were talking recently about how CRAZY our jobs have gotten as our programs have grown (both work in nonprofits). She said she feels like she is just constantly apologizing to people – emails to answer, phone calls to return, committee meetings to attend,reports to write, programs and budgets to maintain, and people to serve … and, oh yeah, our lives and family and such. It can feel like you are constantly spinning your wheels and never quite catch up. We put such pressure on ourselves, don’t we?! I find myself over-committing, and I know I’m not alone in that. And then, like you said, it feels like you end up not doing anything well. Anyway, it’s nice to hear someone else talk about the same struggle. And I like the approach of just focusing on one task at a time. Sometimes, we just gotta let go of the little things!

PS It sounds silly, but something I have found that helps is sniffing peppermint oil. It’s amazing for both stress relief and concentration. I keep a jar on my desk at work and one at home. 🙂

wow, all us type a’s are just having a great time with this post, caitlin! 🙂
what works for me: setting up blocks of time (my default is one hour). what gets done (cleaning, blogging, emails, errands, fitness etc) gets done, then it’s time to move on. and surprisingly, the quality of what can get done is most often just fine!
good luck with your workload – oh, and DEEP BREATHS, even just five of them, work wonders!

Oh, God—I feel like this ALL THE TIME. I’m a teacher and a grad student, and sometimes I get so overwhelmed, I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water. I find that it helps to make priority lists and stick to them: what needs to be done NOW and what can wait?

Oh, and that moment of “me” time is necessary. Every day.

Someone once told me you can do anything for ten minutes. I’m actually doing a post on it later this week but I am definitely a planner so I know if there’s something I have to do but am not looking forward to doing it I will schedule it into my day for ten minutes at a time. This may sound silly but when it comes to cleaning the bathrooms or doing other things I don’t love, it makes the to-do list seem so much more manageable 🙂

I definitely have a hard time viewing the big picture. I get so wrapped up in the details. It’s a big fault of mine!

Oh GOSH yes! I literally cannot function if the dishwasher is full or a baking tray is left out! Sometimes it is soo much better to look at the bigger picture…
Raw broccoli? That’s brave! That’s one of the few veggies I really don’t like raw :/

I am so impressed by anyone who has ever written a book. I am always super stressed by silly 20 page University papers and I can’t even imagine to write a 200 something page book. Sometimes there are days when I am so stressed by the task that I start feeling guilty about everything I do besides working on the paper. At the same time it’s like my mind doesn’t even want to deal with it so I start procrastinating all day which makes the whole situation worse. Le sigh…

I can totally relate to what you are saying. It is SO easy to get bogged down with all the day to day little stuff. I am total Type A. Blocking my time has really helped. At work I am in one department but with three different “jobs/positions” under that one umbrella. So…as you can imagine it is very easy to get caught up in a million little things and then before i know it the day is done and I still have HUGE things looming over my head. So some days I give myself permission to not answer my work phone from 8am-12pm so I can focus on a big task that needs attention. Then later that afternoon I will return emails and phone calls for a certain blocked time period (2-3:30pm for ex). This SO helps me focus and stay on task. And I can leave at 5pm knowing that some huge to do’s have been checked off the list!

It’s so funny to hear that leaving the bed unmade or the dishes not done helps to ease your stress, because I am the total opposite–coming home to an unmade bed or a dirty sink total stresses me out more! 🙂 Hang in there, girl.

Looks like that Operation Beautiful piece is going to be awesome…what a cool photo concept!

I’m glad you wrote this because I am NOTORIOUS for pretending like things are okay when I am reaching my last thread…and it is so necessary to let things go and focus on what’s important. I am SURE that you’re going to get through this and do phenomenal, the in-between time is rough but you have great support 🙂

Love the cheese!

Great post! So many women feel the need to “do it all”- including me sometimes. And those small tasks (dishes, etc.) can add up and suck up all your time and energy for bigger, more important things!

I do the EXACT SAME thing – with the time blocks! It has worked out perfectly thus far 🙂 The day to day stuff does become a drag after a while, but we always have to refocus on the bigger project at hand – which can be hard to do, but simple if we imagine how fabulous and accomplished we will feel when we get there! Love the quote! I have one for you:
“You are beautiful; inside and out”-Anonymous

Yes to your question! It’s just so hard to fit it all in. I’ve had to learn to let go and just leave some tasks unfinished for the day. But that drives me crazy. I swear it’s why I don’t sleep well at night haha. 😛

It’s so hard to let go of things and put things off till later (or never!) but I agree, it has to be done sometimes! I always use lists to keep things out of my head and organized.

I religiously read your blog mostly due to the fact that you are real. It doesn’t seem you ever try to be perfect or whatever, you are yourself and it’s refreshing and you are a great role model for those aspiring to lead a healthy life. Congrats!

Third book?! Did I miss the announcement? What’s the topic?
(sorry for the question overload!) 🙂

I actually make my work email passwords variations of “Focus” (with other stuff added in). It reminds me of the game plan every single time I log in.

I love that. I have to remind myself that I am NOT perfect and I can’t do everything!

I HATE waking up stressed. I relish those 5 seconds between waking up and realizing what I have to do that today. After those 5 seconds everything goes to heck 🙂

I get bogged down every single day with the “too busy and stressed to do anything” attitude, and took charge today, actually. I’m not too busy… I’m just using my time incorrectly. So, today I suddenly had more time for running and cuddling my dogs. Who cares if the trash needs to be taken out and the fridge needs to be scrubbed? Not this girl. 🙂

do less so you can do more, love it. hope you have less stress soon!

Lovely Caitlin, thanks for sharing your stress. I defo defo have days when I feel super stressed. Right now, I’m coming towards the end of my dissertation and I’m just working my butt off to get it done to a standard I’m happy with (and my supervisors are happy with). So, I’m stressed-Sarah at the mo, poor husband. Can’t imagine writing a book though; you’re awesome and I’m sure your book will be awesome too! You can do it 🙂

story of my life. I get so caught up with the details that I often lose sight of the bigger picture.

Making a schedule has certainly helped but, I think it’s important to actually write it down. I’m a total type A and although I can make a mental priority list it’s always more effective on paper. The type A in me can’t let items on a list go unaccomplished!

I am super type-A (my dad was military) so when I get stressed out over a dirty house or having too much on my plate at work I tell myself that stressing out just gets me flustered, makes me more unproductive/unfocused and wastes energy. If I calmly check one thing off my list at a time without stressing, I don’t waste extra brain cells worrying and just get it done!