Six Strategies to Shun Stress

Does your schedule leave you feeling frazzled? Do you find yourself spinning your wheels, running form work to soccer practice to dance class to your parent-teacher conference to the grocery store, then back home to cook dinner? Maybe then you spend a few quality minutes with your husband and children, and possibly squeeze in a little laundry? By the time you fall (fully clothed) into bed, are you out before your head hits the pillow? Between taking care of our families, our homes, and our jobs, many of us don't know whether we're coming or going. But we all know someone who seems to be able to do everything without breaking a sweat. You know the one. She's Ms. Perfect, the mom who makes the rest of us look bad. She works full time, has 2.5 perfect children, and a loving (handsome AND successful) husband. She heads all the committees and bakes cookies (from scratch) for the whole neighborhood every time anything resembling a holiday pops up on the calendar. Oh, and somehow she has time to volunteer at the local soup kitchen every Saturday. And, on top of this, she always manages to look amazing! You despise her, right? Of course, who wouldn't? But, wait. Let's hold back the green-eyed monster for a moment and ask ourselves a question. How does she do it?

No matter what you may think, she's not superhuman. She just manages to stay organized and focused on her goals. She schedules her time wisely and sticks to it.

So, how does an average Jane learn to do this? Don't worry; it's not as difficult as you might think. You, too, can have it all! All it takes is a little practice and perseverance. It might be hard to believe, but there is hope for the proverbial chicken running around with her head cut off!

Anne Morrow Lindbergh once said, "Lost time is like a run in a stocking. It always gets worse."

The simple steps outlined below present a basic blueprint of time management that will help you to stop losing time and start shunning that stress. Give it a shot and you will be amazed at the results.