This past weekend, my husband was out of town so I decided to use the time to make progress on a few areas of our home that had lingered since we moved in the winter:
Getting the last few boxes off the basement floor onto the storage shelves and putting my office shelves in better order.
Summary
It’s normal to get carried away by momentum, but pacing yourself after a productive push helps maintain balance and focus on long-term goals.
Key Takewaways
- Progress can create both satisfaction and agitation
- Setting boundaries and pacing yourself helps maintain balance
Tension between Satisfaction and Agitation
The good news is that I absolutely made progress in these areas.
But the interesting thing I observed is that once I got started on them, it was really hard to stop. So hard in fact that I stayed up later than I wanted to on Saturday night trying to get things in order in the basement. And then I noticed making partial progress on my office shelves made me really eager to keep going every time I stepped inside my office even when I had other more urgent work to do.
One part of me felt so much better and the other part of me felt almost agitated because the areas of disorganization I had accepted for months now no longer felt acceptable to me.
Boundaries and Pacing
Have you ever been in that situation where progress almost makes you feel worse?
If so, here are a few strategies that I found worked for me in not getting too carried away with momentum:
In regards to the basement, the following night, I decided in advance that I needed to get ready for bed as soon as I put down my daughter. Then, no matter where I was at with the project, I needed to start heading to bed by 10 pm. That helped to get me back on track with sleep.
And over the course of a few days, I got far enough on the basement that I’ve decided it’s good enough for now.
As to the office shelves, I still need a number more hours to get those all the way in order. And my top priority during work hours is moving forward other parts of my business, not having a pristine office. So I’m taking a little bit at a time approach right now. Basically, when I need a quick mental break during work, I’m giving myself permission to get one little thing in order such as put a book on the proper shelf or recycle a box.
With this bit-by-bit approach, it will take me a while to get everything done. But it keeps me making some progress without pulling me away from what are my highest business goals right now.
How about you? Do you sometimes get so excited about making progress that it’s hard to shift your focus back to your overall priorities and goals?
If so, you’re not alone. That’s natural and normal. But the key to staying overall balanced while still making headway is to pace ourselves after a major push.
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.
Leave a Reply