Lately, I’ve had a lot of days (and weeks, for that matter) that I just have to put my head down and get through. The days are just packed with things I have to do. The goal is just to survive on these crazy days!
For this week, it’s red ribbon week at school and there is a different dress code every single day. There is Wear Red Day, Pajama Day, and Crazy Hair Day to name a few. There is also a field trip, a Halloween party, and a day where they can send money in to get their picture with an animal from some program the school is having. (Side note: I seriously paid $10 to get a picture of my son with a bearded dragon, and the child made a kissy face in it. Really?!)
Then, I have my own stuff to keep up with. Lunch meetings, school committee meetings…
I’m already tired. However, it can be done. I have a few strategies to get through. Let me share how to survive even the craziest of days with you.
How to Survive Even the Craziest of Days
Prepare the Night Before
Preparation is key. If you know you have a crazy day coming up, prepare the night before.
Make sure the bookbags are packed, homework is done, and all the papers are signed. If there is money to send in, go ahead and get that prepared and in the bookbag. I also go the extra step to make sure my son is aware of everything in the backpack – like if I place money in the side pocket of the bag. This way, he is not frantically asking me things in the morning as we are trying to get out the door.
Lay out clothing. Lay out everyone’s clothing – the kids and yourself! If you don’t have to take time to pick out what you want to wear that day, you’ll save time and a headache.
Meal prep anything you might want to make for dinner the night before. You don’t have to make the whole meal, but maybe you can give yourself a hand by chopping up any vegetables, go ahead and measure out your spices, or brown up your meat.
Related Post: How to Make Meal Planning Quick and Easy
Get Sleep
According to the American Sleep Association, adults need 7-9 hours of sleep at night.
This may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but I know way too many of my friends who try to stay up late and get things done. If you know that your upcoming day is going to be chaotic, then get enough sleep to handle it!!! Sleep also allows for a much calmer and clear-headed disposition.
You are also going to need sleep to tackle the next tactic!
Get Up Early
I know I just said to get some sleep. Go to bed at a reasonable time, so that you can get up early and still have plenty of sleep.
Getting up early doesn’t sound fun at all, I know. I hate waking up early, truth be told. However, if you can manage to get up just 10 minutes early, you can get a jumpstart on your day.
You can read more about my tactic of getting up earlier, in my blog post: How to Be More Productive.
Use a Daily Planning Worksheet
Have a daily worksheet of things you plan to accomplish, your hourly schedule, and even your dinner plans. Sometimes, writing out your tasks is very therapeutic and makes them seem much more likely to accomplish.
You can use this daily planning worksheet that I’ve made. Print it out, and use it!! (If you want access to even more of my printables, you can sign up for the newsletter in the sidebar for access!)
You can use this particular planning worksheet to focus on your top three tasks of the day. Prioritizing your day makes it much more likely that you will get things accomplished!
Take Time for Yourself
Even though you may feel like the day is demanding all of your attention, you need to make time for yourself. Maybe it’s a 30-minute lunch in total silence, or maybe it’s just a 10-minute walk. It looks different for all of us, but carve some time out to revitalize. You’ll be able to come back restored and accomplish much more after a small mental break.
Related Posts: Ways to Practice Self-Care
Focus on One Task at a Time
Prioritize what needs to get done, then focus on only one thing at a time. Sometimes, if you think about everything you need to do all at once, it becomes too overwhelming!!
I’m all about multi-tasking, but sometimes you need to have the focus to ensure things get done.
Use your daily planning worksheet to mark off the tasks as you accomplish them! By doing this, you will feel motivated to keep going as you tick things off your to-do list.
Another trick I use – if I don’t get everything done, I will carry those over onto the next day’s worksheet so they aren’t forgotten.
Give Yourself Some Grace
If your day doesn’t go just exactly as planned, give yourself some grace. No one is perfect, and sometimes we just can’t do it all. Be your best friend, and forgive yourself. Realize you are only one person! You might be superwoman, but even she can’t make extra hours appear into the day. Carry whatever tasks didn’t get done to the next day and start over after another good night’s sleep.
Do you have any surefire ways to share on surviving a crazy day? I’d love to hear it – leave a comment below!! If you enjoyed the downloadable daily planning worksheet, you can get access to other free printables by signing up for the newsletter in the sidebar!
Great article. Especially about the sleep part!