Stress, stress, and more stress

and that's all before your morning coffee . . . . . . .

Ever feel like life is crashing in on you???

Getting ready for work in the morning (and this might mean another day at home with the kids and pets) and you realize your underwear is all in the laundry, you're out of toothpaste and there are no clean cereal bowls. The world seems to be conspiring against you and it's not even 0800!! What can you do?

Take a deep breath and reset your central processing unit inside your brain.

Count backwards from 10 slowly. Now look at the things that are stressing you out this morning and decide which ones you can control. (The ones that you can't control need to get on the back burner - we will deal with them in a minute.) Make breakfast an adventure this morning - everyone has to go on a scavenger hunt for the best container to eat cereal out of (the kids will think this is fun, the husband maybe/maybe not!). Turn your underwear inside out and where them a second day while you collect and do the laundry today. Baking soda doesn't taste that great, but it is really good at cleaning your mouth . . . . . . or just brush really well with water and put toothpaste on the list of things that must be acquired today.

Now for the back burner things - most of this type of stress is caused by things we put off doing. You know how many pair of underwear you have, therefore you know when you NEED to do the laundry. No judgement here! I have done the same things. I am just pointing out the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Taking a minute to start the laundry is worth every second of screaming by your toddler because then you can be fully present for the morning routine. In order to get yourself ahead of the game (or even in the game - depending on where you are starting!) you may need to stop and do an honest assessment of your time.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Start a new page in your journal

* What are you spending time doing? (Write down literally everything that you do through the day for 7-10 typical days. EVERYTHING! Nothing is too small to be accounted for.)

* What is causing the most stress in your life? (Write down each event no matter how big or small that is causing you distress. Just name it, don't judge it. Simply write it down. This is a private list so write it all down.)

* What tasks can be streamlined?

* What stressors can be eliminated?