It’s time to talk about how to survive a busy season.

I sat down at my computer this morning, tweaked a few items on my website and caught up on a few emails. Then, it hit me…this is the first leisurely moment I’ve had to focus on anything besides the immediate in over two weeks! I am living through a particularly busy season of my life right now.

Life has been a whirlwind. Currently, I’m…

•   Downsizing from a sprawling family home, which means getting rid of tons of stuff and packing everything else.
• Arranging for people to buy bigger items and pick them up in some reasonable fashion, so we don’t have to sit on the floor for the next 2 weeks.
• Doing renovations on the place where everything left unsold must go!
• Arranging for movers to come pack up everything to take it to the new place.
• Anticipating my youngest child’s  high school graduation in two weeks…cue graduation party prep, grad announcements, flying her brother in to surprise her for said graduation and helping her extricate herself from the friends and life she’s known for the last four years.
• Putting finishing touches on my first book to have everything ready to go to print before I leave.
• Trying to keep something posted to The FABulous Journey, so people don’t think I slipped off the face of the earth.
• Preparing to move back to the US for a year and scheduling time to say goodbyes.
• Actually trying to make the most of the opportunity to have the whole family together in one house for several weeks.

OK, so I’m pretty busy right now, but that doesn’t change the reality of my situation one bit. The tickets have been purchased and we will board the plane in a week.

How To Survive A Busy Season

Some people thrive on a busy schedule and others are paralyzed by it. The key to surviving a busy season is doing what you can, when you can and as best you can until the season passes.

1.       Do What You Can

Sometimes, you can end up with so much to do that you have no idea where to start. When this occurs, I like to take the outside-in approach. Think ahead to activities that still need to be done when a big event occurs. For example,  I know that I will want to focus fully on my daughter’s grad activities, so I am planning ahead to have nothing else to do on those days.

Several months ahead, start doing small tasks or organizing items that don’t really affect your day-to-day life, but will eventually need to be done. Basically, you are working outside-in. That way, when the busiest time approaches, you have more time and energy to conquer the huge, essential tasks.

Procrastination is never the busy girl’s friend. I can’t tell you how many times I have walked around the house just looking to see if there is anything else I can box up before the eventual move. The little things can pile up to become a big headache.

2.       Do It When You Can

Plan ahead, plan way ahead! When you know you are entering the perfect storm of busyness, do things ahead of time.

Then, when the busy season hits, make sure to make the most of idle opportunities.

• Make/check lists in the car or in the waiting room.
• When you think of something that will need to be done…jot it down immediately before it skips your mind.
• Schedule times to discuss important issues during car trips when you have 30 minutes to an hour of uninterrupted time.
• Stay away from time suckers…social media is a time thief.

3.       Do It The Best You Can

Some activities demand perfection and some don’t. If you are entering a particularly busy season professionally, give yourself some slack at home. Maybe you’ll need to eat bagged salad and hamburger patties for a few days until a project is completed.

Just remember, that people are always more important than projects, but quantity does not always equal quality. Years from now you may not remember a thing about the office presentations you gave, but you’ll live on memories.

The key is to plan in relational time when you can fully focus on those you love. They will prefer shorter periods when they get all of you to frequent attempts when you are trying to multi-task them in with five other things.

I’m Handling This Busy Season

People ask me, “How are you handling all of this at the same time?” My answer is, “one step at a time.” I’m not a super hero, but I am realistic…I plan ahead and I give myself the grace to take a break when I feel on the brink of emotional drain.

How about you? I would love for you to offer your tips for dealing with a busy season in the comment section below.

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