Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. So are the immortal words of Ferris Bueller. If you find yourself rushing from the house to the office, to the gym, to the practice, with little rest in between, your life has become too hectic. It’s time to slow down a bit.

Create a plan

When you’re in the middle of chaos, it’s hard to stop and make sense of everything. But when you don’t have a plan, it only fuels the chaos. It’s important to stop and think about what you are doing in life, what you want out of life, and what you want to focus on. If you can come up with a plan, your life can begin to shape itself around your dreams, making you and everyone else around you a lot happier.

Schedule Your Day

At night, even if you’re tired, stop for a few moments and look at the day ahead of you. Some people wait until the morning to set a daily plan, but your day starts a lot earlier than when you can perform this task. As well, you don’t want to be agonizing all night long about what you need to do.

Look at the next day to know what are necessary tasks that need to be performed. What meetings and appointments are there? Look for ways to be more efficient with your time. Can you pick up multiple errands at the same time? Is there someone else who can drive your kid to practice? What leftovers are still in the fridge that can be repurposed for dinner? The more planning you an do ahead of time, the smoother your day will be.

Schedule Me Time

Time for yourself is often tacked on to the end of the day. Maybe you’ll have 20 minutes of peace where you can relax with a good book. Or more likely you’ll be too exhausted and will just fall into bed. If you don’t schedule time for yourself, then it won’t happen and you won’t get the opportunity to slow down.

Start by blocking out time in your day that is just for you. Maybe this requires waking up 20 minutes earlier. Or maybe you can use your lunch break and actually go out the building for a much needed breather.

Ask For Help

If you’re finding that you still can’t find a block of time for yourself, then look for others to help. Can a neighbour pick up the kids from school? Are you able to alternative dinner prep with your partner? Is there an option to work from home one day a week so that you don’t have to spend time in transit? There are often options for finding me time, you just might need to be creative.