Does this situation ring any bells for you?
It’s approaching midnight and you climb into bed because you know you have to get up early in the morning to go to work, but you’re really not all that tired. Your mind is spinning constantly, bouncing from one thing to the next.
First it’s work – your to-do list is getting longer by the moment next it’s family – there’s stuff to be done around the house, a family function the week after next, and the car engine is making that ticking noise again then over to friends – your good friend is moving next week and wants you to help, but you’re supposed to spend the day with your kids back to work again – you forgot to send that email to an important client and—
Okay, you get the picture. Almost everyone I know has experienced the “spinning mind” syndrome at least once. With the speed not only of business, but life increasing at an alarming rate, it’s no wonder our brains are struggling to keep up. Cell phones and email make us accessible at every hour of the day. The demands of our personal lives are becoming as automatic as those of our work lives.
We rush around from one thing to another, at mach speed. So the big question then, is how to stop your mind from spinning so much?
Learn to Say “No” For some people this is an almost unheard of idea. The thought of saying ‘no’ to a boss or co-worker, let alone a spouse, sibling or friend, has hardly even crossed many of our minds. But it is one of the most important things we can ever learn to do in order to slow down the rapid pace of our lives.
Saying ‘no’ to things that are on someone else’s priority list is actually saying ‘yes’ to the things that are actually a priority for you. Saying ‘no’ to overtime, even when you might like the money, so that you can say ‘yes’ to spending the evening with your kids is an important decision. In ten, twenty or thirty years, your kids won’t remember the extra few dollars you may or may not have earned – but they will remember whether or not you were around enough during their childhood years.
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate Delegation is an art form unto itself. For many of us, assigning an important project or piece of work is difficult, at best. We want to make sure it’s done right, so we feel we need to do it ourselves. We firmly believe, as the old saying goes, if you want something done right, you’d better do it yourself. But learning to delegate effectively will free up literally hours of your time, and there are three key things you can do to delegate more effectively. 1) Be clear about what you need, when you need it by, and how you’d like to see it done 2) Assign a due date that allows for corrections and updates if necessary 3) Be available for questions so that if there is any confusion whatsoever, it is cleared up right away.
Delegation is also a tool you can use at home. Now, I’m not necessarily suggesting that you put your spouse or children to work, or that you teach your pet to clean up their own messes and prepare their own dinner. What I am suggesting is that you hire out the tasks that you really don’t like doing, and don’t actually have the time for anyway. Maybe you don’t like housecleaning – hire a cleaner to come in twice per month. Or maybe cutting the grass just isn’t your thing – pay the neighbour’s kid to cut it for you.
Delegating, both at work and at home, can be a bit of a challenge at first, but once you work out the details, you’ll feel the load starting to lighten dramatically.
Spend 30 Minutes Quietly Getting Ready for Bed Quite often you’re probably rushing right up until the very last minute before you brush your teeth and get yourself ready for bed. Even if all you were doing is watching television or a movie, the speed of the action on-screen can be tremendous. Even the frame rate at which your television displays pictures is at a break-neck speed.
Instead, try shutting the television off at least 30 minutes before you want to go to bed and try spending some quiet time with yourself as you go through your end of day routine. Reflect on your personal goals in life, including any short- and medium-term goals that you’d like to accomplish. Be aware of your breathing and try to breathe deeply and slowly, using your full diaphragm. Stretch your body or do some light yoga in preparation for bed.
If you’re still not quite ready to fall asleep when you lie down, consider reading a few pages of a book or listening to some soothing music.
Get Up Earlier If all else fails, try getting up earlier in the morning so that you are more tired by the time your bedtime rolls around. Usually you will find that you can actually be more productive in the morning if you get up early than you would otherwise be in the evening, if you go to bed late.
Mornings can be spent writing in your journal, working out, going for a walk or simply enjoying the early morning quiet with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
If you were to implement even one of these strategies, you would soon see your stress and busyness levels starting to decrease and with them your spinning mind will start to slow down.
To your success.