Yesterday was a really interesting day for me – I explain more in the video below.
Something happened that totally threw me off balance. It threatened to ruin my day – a day where I had a LOT to accomplish (surprise, surprise). Funny how the most inconvenient, time-consuming situations present themselves when we have the least amount of time to deal with them properly.
As I was ranting to my boyfriend about it, he laughed and told me I’d be able to use it on my blog. I was so frustrated at the time that my response was: “I don’t even have any idea how I can use this one for my blog.” Low and behold, three hours later, I knew exactly what I need to share with you today.
How to Maintain Balance
1. Rant
This may surprise some of you, but I think it’s important to get all the negative emotion you’re feeling out. So many of us think that we’re not allowed to express our emotions when something bad happens, especially if we’re at work, so we hold it all inside; this is the worst possible thing you could do. If you don’t have anyone to rant to, take some time to write out how you’re feeling in a journal. Be completely and totally honest, acknowledge the situation and what happened, stay out of the analytical mind, and shelve the blame game for the time being. Instead of treating yourself like a victim, just let it be known how you feel. Limit this to no more than 30 minutes.
2. Sit
Take 10 minutes to meditate. Sit down, close your eyes, and breathe. Watch the thoughts rush through your head and give yourself this space and time to burn through any remaining negative energy you’re still holding on to. At this point, you’re going to want to rush back into work so that you can finish everything on your to-do list, but you must absolutely give yourself this buffer space to get back to a calm, stable, balanced, and grounded mindset.
3. Move
The first chance you get, move. Go to a yoga class, go for a walk, run, jog, pop in an exercise DVD – do something to get your body moving. We store a lot of our negative emotions in our bones, muscles, and cells and if we don’t move that energy out of the body physically it will take residence somewhere and cause tension and pain for years to come. Get it out as quickly as you can.
You might be thinking these three things will take up so much more time than the unexpected situation in and of itself that it will be impossible to get back on track. When you take time for yourself to recalibrate, you’re able to return to your day and your projects with more presence. You’ll work faster and smarter and be amazed how much you’ll still be able to accomplish in a shorter period of time. This is the secret of work/life balance.
4. Prioritize
It’s super important to prioritize your tasks before you sit back down and do any work. See everything you’ve got on the list and put numbers next to each thing you’re going to do in order. The most important, time-senstiive activities go on top, and the less important activities go at the bottom.
5. Reassess
What can wait until tomorrow or later this week? Reschedule what can be rescheduled and be honest with yourself about what you can actually accomplish given the amount of time you have left in the day.
6. Relax
If you finish your re-prioritized and reassessed list early, resist the urge to add in more. Take the time you have left over at the end of the day and enjoy it. This is the final process in fully letting go of an unexpected situation. You’ll get extra time to spend with yourself and others, while still being productive.
At the end of the day, let go of guilt and overwhelm – it’s not going to serve you or anyone else to hold on to it. Be at peace – be grateful – for your life as it is, and know that tomorrow is a new day.
Watch the video below for a little more info on how you can maintain balance when the unexpected happens.
If you liked this advice and you want to dive deeper into how you can find more balance, enroll in my four-week online self-care course Livin’ Like A Yogini. Class starts on Tuesday, September 17 and I’d love for you to join me!
Image credit: kmakice
