I recently received this note from a bride-to-be:
“I am getting married in 5 weeks, and it’s just busy and I have a lot on my “plate”–some stuff I can’t control and some I can control. I get stressed easily and uptight. I don’t want every change, road block, or honestly my stubbornness to get in the way of the joy and abundant life God has for me and my future husband. I want to break free of this. I am a very organized and sometimes controlling person so when I get impatient or my plans are thrown for a loop I get stressed and in a bad mood sometimes.
I feel like there is no time for everything I want to get done in one day! It’s frustrating.”
She’s not alone! This is a situation that plagues many brides-to-be or any one approaching a major emotionally involved event or project.
Here’s my advice:
1. Recognize that this is a stressful time of life. You not only have a ton to do with preparing for the wedding but also are going through the grieving process of leaving your old life of singleness and starting a new season. It’s natural to feel sad/be more sensitive.
2. Realize that you aren’t going to be able to do everything you want to do. As you plan the weeks before your wedding, ask yourself two questions:
-Is this an essential or optional wedding activity?
-Is this something that needs to be done before the wedding or can it wait?
Then focus on the essential activities that must be done before the wedding. If you get any of the optional or “could wait” items done, great but don’t put pressure on yourself to make them happen.
3. I understand the feeling of getting stressed or impatient when things don’t go as planned. I wrote a blog post on dealing with this topic: When Things Don’t Go as Planned Also, I’ve found it helps enormously when I start my day asking God what He wants me to accomplish and praying throughout the day that I will focus on loving God and loving people instead of just “getting things done.”
Hope this helps all brides-to-be to take a deep breath and enjoy this beautiful season!
Take care,
Elizabeth
If you want to end your feelings of overwhelm and frustration and step into the future with confidence, I am here to help. Pick a time for a quick call here: Talk with Elizabeth
About Real Life E
Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time management coach and best-selling author who empowers individuals who feel guilty, overwhelmed and frustrated to feel peaceful, confident and accomplished. She helps people struggling with new levels of responsibility after receiving a promotion or becoming a parent, who aren’t meeting expectations at work, or who need better work-life balance to overcome burnout.
Elizabeth was named one of the World’s Top 30 Time Management Professionals by Global Gurus every year since 2018 and is a member of Forbes Coaches Council. McGraw Hill published her first book The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment: How to Achieve More Success with Less Stress. Harvard Business Review published her second book How to Invest Your Time Like Money. And FaithWords published her third book Divine Time Management. Elizabeth regularly writes time management articles for Harvard Business Review and Fast Company and has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox.
Another Bride-to-Be Resource: Taking care of your mental well-being before and during your wedding
Leave a Reply