Everyone is overwhelmed—big time—in today’s business world. Being in a constant state of “time overwhelm” robs you of the joy from life, making life feel like a grind. Try these ten tips to catch your breath and stay caught up.

Try these ten tips to catch your breath and stay caught up.

1. Book 5-15 minutes of cushion time between meetings and appointments to organize yourself and your thoughts. Do it.
2. Book yourself a Power Day. This is where you come in early and stay late to power through your to-do list. On this day you do nothing but work on tasks; you have no meetings and ideally no interaction with anyone else. Bring your lunch and snacks (and your favorite playlist) to minimize the risk of getting off track. Don’t forget to put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door.
3. Give serious, thoughtful consideration to resisting the habit of scheduling meetings from your phone. While it may seem more efficient because you can book it instantly, whipping out your phone to book the meeting actually increases the chances of booking at a time that is not ideal for you or the other person/s. It’s better to agree to contact the person by email to schedule the meeting once you have had a look at your week or month. And if you are attending a meeting that you suspect will require a follow-up, come to the meeting prepared to book another by having already checked your availability.
4. Do only what you are doing while you are doing it. Multi-tasking wastes time and robs you of joy. Period.
5. At least three times per work day, stop the stream of email for 20-30 minutes while you work on a task or attend a meeting. If you cannot do this, you are encouraging your brain to develop an attention problem, and you don’t want to have an attention problem, do you? Of course not. So pay attention!
6. Take your vitamins, drink more water and do everything you know you should do to improve your sleep (stop electronics before bed, ensure you have a dark room, make lists before going to bed, stop caffeine earlier in the day, etc.).
7. Clean your office and your car, and organize your email and desktop files. Your brain needs this so it can be the best, most resourceful, problem-solving machine it can be.
8. Treat your workouts like your most important medicine. Even a small amount of exercise positively impacts your thinking processes—and the clearer you think, the more efficient you will be.
9. Take time ahead of time to pre-book your regular appointments for the next 3-6 months. It is the things that are important but not urgent that we often leave unscheduled until they become urgent—so book them out now, and you will be so glad you did. Schedule your haircuts, general grooming (for you and your doggie), medical and dental appointments, etc., with your entire year’s schedule in front of you so that you are more likely to get the times that will be the most productive for you.
10. Set a specific time boundary in your communication to help you say no to optional things you do not have time/desire to do. You can say, “Oh, I wish I could, but I cannot add anything until after the budgets are complete.” Or, “I just finished with the school play, so I am not doing any volunteer work until next quarter.”

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