this was another problem keeping me stuck!

After I hit “publish” on my post last week, I was like –Oh wait! There’s more to it.

THIS is something that’s definitely adding to me feeling overwhelmed and I bet it’s doing the same to you too if you’re feeling like you just can’t seem to get stuff done. Last week I shared a new habit I was trying to get back into: scheduling into my calendar the important stuff that needed to get done. It was a fail (not actually a fail because I learned a lot from it) because I was just trying to do too much in general.

But not only that! I was doing something that I think is pretty common with a lot of us:

We often UNDERestimate how long something will take to complete.

A friend of mine had a great example of this when she was talking about just grocery shopping for the week. It involves:

planning out meals (if you’re smart like her :/) + making list + driving to store + doing the actual shopping + driving home + unloading groceries + putting them away = that’s easily a four-hour task each week.

And she’s being smart about it by planning out meals and only going once a week. Not to mention, if you have kids in tow during any of this that can add a whole different level of stress!

Yes there are ways to shorten it (order online + have delivered … or just order in / eat out. But that doesn’t appeal to all of us (I’d be okay with!) and can add up quickly $$$!

If you tried to schedule your to do list list into your calendar (even in a smart batching kind of way) you may quickly see how much you’re trying to do and how there’s just not enough time in the day to do it.

This is actually a good thing in that you are GETTING REAL with yourself (i.e., AWARENESS).

Awareness is the gift that comes from my SPACE Shifting‘s Step 1: Surroundings Assessment. It’s vital for making any kind of changes: getting clear on what’s going on with your current situation: whether it’s clutter in your kitchen or in your life.

Simply being aware of what’s not working pinpoints the clutter that you need to deal with by either clearing out or minimizing. It’s a great way to begin that shift towards a happier home and life.

TRY THIS: Before you set out to do a task, estimate how long you think it’ll take. Then time it and see how long it really takes. Literally jot it down on paper or in your phone.

I bet you’ll be surprised at what you discover. It can be quite the eye opener when you do this for your typical daily or weekly tasks. And hopefully you’ll realize, No wonder I’m so overwhelmed! I really am trying to do too much.