It’s 8am and you’re about to take your first sips of coffee, but you are interrupted by your bestie’s text. You’re midway through responding and an email notification drops down with a subject that reads “urgent.” Distracted by your now racing heart, you forget about the text and switch over to the email and frantically respond to settle this urgent business when your stomach announces its hungry. You’re quick to respond to an urgent email, but it’s easy to ignore the rumble and tumble of your tummy. Being the multi-tasker that you are, you continue to type away while taking sips from your coffee until the reminder on your phone, to leave, starts to chirp. And with that chirp, you realize you never packed your gym bag and all your focus darts to yet another new task . . . but first, you need to heat up your unfinished coffee to take with you on your drive and you throw it into the microwave before running back upstairs.
At this point, you have ignored your hunger, the reminder to leave, that long forgotten text, which has your bestie continuously messaging you because she could see that you’ve read it, started to respond, but never finished, and the beeping of the microwave that annoyingly announces it’s time to caffeinate every ten seconds. All the while, you’re upstairs throwing what you hope are clean leggings and a tank into your bag. Running back downstairs to your own personal music score of attention-seeking devices, you grab all your belongings, silence all the electronic chatter, and then head out the door praying you remembered everything. . . and this is just the start of your day.
How many times a week do you experience a situation in which you feel you are pulled into a million directions or that your life is spinning so fast that the “wheels are about to come off?”
Perhaps you feel like you’ve signed up for just too much and despite your healthiest intentions, you start to cut corners, make excuses, forget the basics, and eventually burn out. . .
Do you ever feel that despite your best efforts to stay organized and create a detailed to-do list that the list itself is paralyzing because you don’t know where to start? Or you start to feel so anxious and overwhelmed that you shut down? Or worse, you just burn the candle at both ends and end up sick?
We hear ya sister! If you’re like us at the DIYcleanse, we all want to live an amazing life every single day. We’re “go getters” too, and it’s a challenge to find the right balance between over and underwhelmed without compromising our health and wellbeing. So where do we draw the line; set a new boundary; edit out the fluff? Well, that’s for you to decide because only you know what’s best for you. We each have our own personal threshold of what we can handle. But in the meantime, let’s TAKE FIVE and get grounded by accepting where we are right now and being mindful of the things we have control of.
In order to feel more supported and grateful for this busy life of yours, try this THREE STEP exercise each day! We know you are busy. All it takes is FIVE MINUTES. So let’s get to it!
STEP ONE–Sit like a Boss!
Sit up straight, plant both feet firmly on the floor– maybe kick off those fabulous shoes so you can feel all four corners of your feet on the ground and then press into your feet. Did you notice something? The ground caught you! When life gets to be too much, press into the “earth” and remember that while everything is happening around you, you are firmly supported (by the floor, your friends, your family, your significant other and more). Now, take a deep breath in and let the corners of your mouth turn up and smile then exhale saying, “I am supported. I can do this.” Take a few S L O W deep breaths… check in, and relax. You have got this.
STEP TWO–Tame the Beast.
On a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle, dividing it in half. On the right side, write down only the TOP FIVE things you must absolutely do today. That’s it! Not four, not six, just five. This is your “RIGHT NOW” list. Go ahead and breathe now. I know you have more than five things to do, but don’t worry, you’ll get to write the rest down next.
Next, on the left side, write down everything else that is on your mind. Release it so it stops haunting you. Feel free to add as much as you want to this side. For me, this list can be twenty things long easily–Yikes! The is your “NICE TO GET DONE” list.
Here’s the best part and listen to the sound it makes: RIP. THAT. PAPER. right down that middle line. Yes, tear that list in half girl! Did you hear that? The paper is sighing in relief and so is your soul. Who knew that ripping your to do list could make such a delicious sound! Breathe again and smile because you are taming that list girl!
And now. . . crumple the “NICE TO GET DONE” list and toss it to “the universe”–aka the trash or recycling. Breathe in again, lifting your shoulder to your ears and exhale with a sigh, pressing your shoulders down and lifting your chin to show off your newly grounded confidence. Trust that whatever is on that “LEAVE IT TO THE UNIVERSE” list will get done in its own time. Don’t you feel lighter already?!
FINAL STEP–Upgrade your perspective
Now, let’s get focused on those remaining five tasks on your paper. Somewhere on that page I want you to write “THINGS I GET TO DO TODAY!” When life gets busy, we tend to think of our to-do lists as things we “have to do.” When we upgrade our perspective and lean into the gratitude, our brain recognizes the tasks as opportunities, not burdens. Be grateful for the opportunity that you get to tackle these five tasks.
THAT’S IT!
So, how will you build this TAKE FIVE exercise into your daily routine? Will you implement this practice first thing to set your intentions for your day? Will you use it as an afternoon check-in? Regardless of when you TAKE FIVE, remember it’s all about having an attitude of gratitude, breathing, and tackling only the things you have control of. Share your experiences with us below. How have you manifested more joy and gratitude for your busy life? How are you taking five?
