the tools on a daily basis. Daily action creates results.
You may be thinking, as most women do, “I am too busy to do any more. My life is crazy busy already.” Reframe your thinking. You are too busy not to learn how to manage your day-to-day schedules and responsibilities better. Begin today; put the first strategy into action and notice the results. I am not expecting you to move a mountain. Making positive changes in life is all about taking baby steps. As I mentioned above, daily action creates results.
Below is an overview of the 7 Strategies to take life from chaos to calm. By the end of this book, you will have a complete understanding of each strategy and will fully understand how each tool in the work/life balance toolbox can benefit your life.
These strategies are ten years in the making. I have studied, honed and adapted the tools to create a high-quality work/life balance toolbox. This is my gift to you; I have done the research for you. Consider me your research assistant. I have created the tools for you to tackle the job; all you have to do is put them to work.
In the following pages, I have given you a brief description of each of the 7 Strategies you will learn to implement in your life. These will give you a taste of what each of the strategies entails.
Strategy #1: “Me” Time. It is important to take time for yourself each day. If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of others to the best of your ability. “Me” Time recharges your battery and allows you to operate throughout your day fully charged. Strategy #1 focuses on tools to build “Me” Time into your daily routine. Learn how to put yourself at the top of your daily “to do” list.
Strategy #2: Ask for help. Busy women think they can do it all—all by themselves. Admit it, girls; you think that unless you do it yourself, it won’t get done correctly. So you power through the day, accomplishing task after task, then collapse into bed at the end of the day. Well, ladies, if you help each other out, you will be more productive and have more time for “Me” Time, family time and, even better, less chaos. Strategy #2 focuses on tools to incorporate asking for help into your daily routine.
Strategy #3: NO is not a four-letter word. If the words, “Yes, I can help with that” or “Sure, I can make that work” are part of your daily vocabulary, this strategy will transform your life. Busy women tend to overcommit and spread themselves so thin they don’t have time for their families, let alone themselves. Strategy #3 focuses on tools to help you learn to say YES when you really want to say YES and say NO when you don’t want to do something. NO is a complete sentence!
Strategy #4: Balancing act. In essence, this strategy discusses time management that works. No matter how many things you can juggle or multi-task, there are still only 24 hours in a day. Time is the only commodity you cannot purchase more of, so you must use the minutes you have wisely. Strategy #4 focuses on tools for planning, dividing and conquering the day for success.
Strategy #5: Stop procrastinating NOW. There are many reasons why we procrastinate and, yes, ladies, we all procrastinate in some way, shape or form. Simply put, procrastination wastes time, decreases productivity and allows chaos to bloom. Learn about the different types of procrastination and how to build success tools to reduce its power over your life. Once you understand why you procrastinate, the tools will be easier to incorporate into daily life.
Strategy #6: Busy Mind Syndrome. Otherwise known as BMS, this is the tendency we have to let all the things we faced, done and undone, to clutter our brains. BMS makes it difficult to sleep and focus on your daily schedules and responsibilities. This strategy focuses on understanding the root cause of BMS and how to use the tools to reduce it. Some of the common causes are mommy guilt, over-committed schedule, unrealistic expectations, and the never-ending to-do list. Let’s face it; who doesn’t want a little less BMS in their lives?
Strategy #7: Don’t Reinvent the Laundry Basket. Simply put, we all have tips, strategies and tools we use each day. Ladies, share the knowledge. Why reinvent the laundry basket? Many of the tools in Strategies #1 through #6 I learned from friends, family and co-workers. Yes, some of them I modified to meet the unique needs of my family; however, I learned them from others. So, if you have a tool or strategy that works, share it. This strategy is a compilation of miscellaneous tips and success stories I learned from friends, family and co-workers.
Working through this book is a process. You have a choice to work through one strategy or several at a time. You set the pace; this is your journey. It is not a book to read cover to cover. Work through the strategies at your pace. As you progress through the activities, you will know when you are ready to integrate a new strategy into your life.
Living Life Beyond the Laundry = Balancing Life
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action changes the world. ~Joel A. Barker
Chapter 1
Busy Bizzy
You need not feel guilty about not being able to keep your life perfectly balanced. Juggling everything is too difficult. All you really need to do is catch it before it hits the floor! ~Carol Bartz, CEO. Yahoo
Before we begin learning about the 7 Strategies to take your life from chaos to calm, I would like to share with you why I have developed passion for this topic. I have spent the last ten years researching, honing and incorporating these success strategies into my life.
My journey to Live Life Beyond the Laundry began back in 2002 when the stress and chaos in my life began to affect my health and the quality of my life. I knew things had to change and that it was up to me to make that happen. Thus, my journey, research and transformation began.
My family consists of my wonderful husband and three great kids. Oh, and I can’t forget our dog and cat. I worked as a sales representative and corporate sales trainer for a successful organization. I was also part of a project team implementing a significant change in the company. The responsibilities became overwhelming, resulting in stress and chaos in my life. I tried to balance (unsuccessfully) my daily expectations and responsibilities at work and home.
The stress and chaos began to take a toll. When I finally headed for home at the end of the day, I still had at least 20 things left on my work to-do list. The result was that I took work home with me in the form of busy mind syndrome (BMS) every day. This created a grouchy, edgy mom and wife. This is not how I wanted to be, but I was not in control. Stress and chaos had taken over my life. I knew I had to make a change when I began suffering from short-term memory loss.
That was the day I began reading and researching about work/life balance and organizing my life. Did you know people can successfully enjoy work and home life? I began to implement and modify work/life balance tools to meet the needs of my family. The tools worked, the short-term memory loss reversed itself, and I began to enjoy my evenings and weekends with the family.
This is how I live my life now. Every tool and strategy discussed in this book has been gradually implemented in my life. As a result of my hard work and consistent action, I have learned to shift my life from chaos to calm. Is my life calm and serene every day? NO. Is that okay? YES. See, NO is a complete sentence.
What I have learned is how to notice the signs and signals when my life is getting too chaotic and stressful. That is when a clear understanding of the 7 Strategies and tools in this book becomes extremely important. I figure out what is creating the chaos and build a strategy to shift back to calm.
I did not accomplish this overnight. It is a journey that takes daily action. As mentioned above, I occasionally slip, but I recognize the signs
