This week has been a bit of a....roller coaster for me and for (mostly ridiculous) reasons that I won't bore you with, I had a 'Mummy Meltdown'. I'm a real Mum, not a superhero and it happens to us all!
Whatever kind of Mum you may be it is us that in most families must take on the role of 'Family Manager' (regardless of the other jobs you may already have), it's a huge role and a massive challenge that you may have no previous experience for!
So from the planning of the family holidays, food shopping, restocking the children's wardrobes and planning birthday parties, to handling illness and check ups, arranging days out and managing homework...it all becomes our responsibility and has to somehow fit in around our other full time commitments! Argh!
So its hardly surprising that every now and then (when we least expect it) we take a moment to think about the things we need to do that day and it unwittingly spirals into being swamped in a sea of ALL the things we are in charge of AT THE SAME TIME! Big mistake!
A Mum should never try to think about all her responsibilities at once (inevitably due to the sheer volume) or the panic will start to rise, the palms sweat, the choking out of control feeling raises it's ugly head and WHAM a full on wobble attack will hit from nowhere!
Depending on your personality type this will either result in serious floods of tears, slabs of chocolate being eaten, a bottle of wine for one or furious tantrums and shouting. I'm my case i'll admit it's often all of the above! So how do we avoid it?
Rule No 1
NEVER try to think about your to do list as a whole, it's way to big to handle! Take a few deep breaths. Then release the tension by whatever healthy means necessary, a walk, the gym (loud music helps me) and move onto rule 2.
Rule No 2
Break down the stress into things you need to do today, tomorrow and things that can wait. Focus only on today and maybe tomorrow for now. Grab a pen and paper and write a list (or multiple lists if you like) and include key dates that things need to happen. You will feel better once you have had a brain dump at the very least.
Rule No3
Embrace technology! Move your usual lists to your mobile phone or tablet so you can add things on as they pop into your head. Add the key dates to your calendar and set up reminders so you don't have to remember yourself.
Rule No 4
Delegate where you can, you are not superwoman!
Rule No 5
Don't beat yourself up when you have a bad day. A good melt down is actually good for you and releases all that built up tension to make you a better Mum.
I personally have constant rolling lists for food shopping, gifts, party planning, school projects, holiday packing, DIY plans, generic things to do, really anything goes!
Get yourself an in tray and spend just 15 minutes or so each day checking the calendar, dealing with the contents of the tray, adding dates and reminders to the diary and looking to the week ahead. It's amazing what a difference this makes.
I set reminder alerts for just about everything from taking medicine to remembering to leave for the school runs!
All this organisation won't stop the occasional wobble but it will help you feel calm and in control at least some of the time!
So whats your secret? How do you do to avoid feeling overwhelmed?? Any tips are welcome!
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/18117836@N00/184475499">the death of created life</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>
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