"The secret to not getting overwhelmed"

This post by Jen Fulwiler fits nicely into the "new baby's resolutions" series I have been working on.

It occurred to me that Mother Teresa must have had more demands on her time than she could ever even come close to addressing — and considering the type of work she did, serving the poorest of the poor all over the world, she must have often felt daunted by how many important things needed to be done compared to how little she could do.

So I asked Fr. Langford: What did Mother Teresa do when it seemed that there was more work than she could possibly handle?

His response was simple and wise, and it marked a turning point in my life.

Go and read.

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Comments

[Jenny]

"Even then though, I think Jen’s advice is really helpful. I find that laziness and procrastination are often a consequence of (and cause of) not having enough downtime to spend in quiet reflection or prayer, goal-setting and priority-making."

This was in the comments and I found it especially helpful.

During the workweek I do not get especially overwhelmed with my to-do list because I don't have time to even think about it. I'm in pure survival mode. Then the weekend comes and the full weight of what needs done falls on my head. I flounder and end up dithering a lot of time away. It all feels URGENT but I can't do it all or even part.

I hope creating some space on Saturday mornings will help me figure out what needs to come first and have peace with what gets left out.

[Jeanie]

"During the workweek I do not get especially overwhelmed with my to-do list because I don't have time to even think about it. I'm in pure survival mode. Then the weekend comes and the full weight of what needs done falls on my head. I flounder and end up dithering a lot of time away. It all feels URGENT but I can't do it all or even part."

Dithering...that's me! I also am a mother who works full time and you have described my weekend self perfectly, although I'm not exactly in survival mode because my children are older. That makes me older, too, though, so I know I need some rejuvenating time as well as some Getting Things Done Time. Unfortunately, I hover somewhere in the middle, not really accomplishing anything, but not allowing myself to rest either.