Cutting out what no longer serves you in this next stage of life is important. This not only means eliminating triggers, but it means re-prioritizing your responsibilities and releasing those things that you feel are no longer needed. If you have always worked a full-time job as well as maintained three volunteer positions and moonlighted as a freelancer, you might want to let some of these responsibilities go. While it is admirable to try and take on so much, doing so will keep your stress levels at an all-time high and you’ll be unable to focus on a self-improvement plan because you’re far too busy just trying to make it from point A to point B. Unload those things that you feel you can and realign your priorities so you can relax a bit.
How do you start?
While having a lot on your plate is certainly overwhelming, it can seem equally overwhelming to start a journey of eliminating access responsibilities and realigning what’s left. When you’re in so deep with the many priorities you’re juggling, it can also seem impossible to eliminate any for fear of this change having an unanticipated domino effect and negatively influencing the rest. What’s more, sometimes it’s extremely difficult to determine which responsibilities are more important than others – after all, everything you take on, you do so for a reason, right?
Here’s a good exercise to get you started:
What are my main daily responsibilities?
How would I rank these responsibilities in order of importance?
What are the pros of eliminating each of these?
What are the cons?
What will happen if I begin the elimination process?
What will happen if I don’t?
What will I have time to do that I enjoy if I eliminate some of these responsibilities?
If you are able to reach the point of removing some extra responsibilities, proceed with the following:
What’s left on my list?
How would I order these in terms of importance?
Do I need to adjust any of these to better accommodate my schedule?
What will happen if I realign these?
What will happen if I do not?
How can I adjust my time to make more space for self-care?
Revisit your list as often as you feel is necessary to continue realigning and re-prioritizing unless you find you have more balance and time for healing.