You can't catch every wave - and how to catch the ones that matter

Oh, did I ever have to take my own medicine earlier this week!!

I was feeling really overwhelmed and found myself task-switching, dibbling and dabbling, finding it super hard to get focused, and all the while frustrated that I wasn't making much progress on any one thing.

All the important pieces were in place:

• I have set clear and inspired goals

• My goals are aligned with my bigger intentions and values

• My daily actions are clearly supporting me in accomplishing those goals

In other words; I know what I want and I am "going after it"!

However, the strong pull of the new season seems to have put the most ambitious part of me in the driver’s seat, and she does not seem concerned about how many hours there are in a day!

How's the fall of 2023 coming along for you?

Are you, too, trying to keep up with that very ambitious, driven part of yourself?

As exciting and inspiring as it is to get momentum on those most inspired goals, we all know that there are only "so many" hours in a day, and only "so much" we can keep in focus at one given time - which turns out is really not that much...

With the complex and multi-faceted lives we live, there's no wonder we sometimes get overwhelmed. Can you relate?

Fortunately, I know how to get myself out of this type of overwhelm and I'd like to share that with you. ;)

The question is, how do we get out of overwhelm and into inspired and focused action?

Here's what I did - using my very own process (or "medicine"):

Dump -> Divide -> Do (TM) --- I hope you try it!

1. DUMP - grab some stickie notes and write down ALL tasks that you can think of that need to be done for a particular initiative - without sorting, without assessing, without prioritizing. I recommend you write one distinct action on each stickie note. Keep going for the next initiative. The goal with this step is to get it all OUT OF YOUR HEAD and give you something more tangible to work with.

2. DIVIDE - Once your stickie-writing is done and your head is starting to clear, it's time to create some order in the madness ;) To do so, you will divide your tasks in two different ways: first “divide by time” and then “divide by size”. Here’s how:

• a) by TIME - ONE stickie at a time, take your "dumped" to-do's and determine: WHEN do you need to start doing this?

• b) by SIZE - For anything in Today or This Week, divide those to-do's down into very specific, small action steps, small enough to be completed in an hour or less.

At this point, you probably feel less overwhelmed with clarity about what needs to happen Today and This Week. You’re ready for some Focused Action!

3. DO - it is time to get into action. Prepare by minimizing distractions and commit to actually staying focused on the tasks at hand. Warning: Do not attempt to multi-task!

Finally, perhaps the most satisfactory step of them all, as you complete a task, move it to your DONE column/list. Check it off. Do a happy dance ;)

Any time you feel spread too thin, stressed, or overwhelmed... PAUSE and take stock; Dump & Divide. Then, make deliberate choices about what you will spend your time on next, and Do that. Everything else is considered “parked,” for later consideration.

(for a more thorough walk-through of the Dump-Divide-Do (TM) process, you can download my video playlist: here https://www.timealchemyresources.com/)

It's empowering. It's liberating.

Imagine if most of your time was invested in inspired focused action. How much could you accomplish of what truly matters? What would happen to your sense of fulfillment?

Eventually, you can probably reach most of your juicy goals. But, unless you find a way to clone yourself... you cannot do it all today.

What is ONE action you will take TODAY that gets you a step closer to one of your TRULY INSPIRED GOALS? I'd love to know.

For me…? I commit to reaching out to three women-in-business whom I admire, and invite them to join my next Soul Sisters for Good gathering!

(inspired by a post from January 2020, updated September 2023)