Embracing the Messiness of Life
To say that life is messy is an understatement. I honestly cannot think of anything that is messier than life. I would much rather juggle a half-frozen turkey, trying to get the guts out, and place it in a pan that is too small, than deal with all the messiness of life. But as we all hear, the messiness of life is what creates character.
Knowing and understanding that life will be messy is half the battle. Preparing and planning for a perfect day, knowing it is only a matter of time before the messiness kicks in allows us to be in control, to determine how the messiness affects us. These moments don’t need to be destructive or all-consuming, rather they can be little blips on the radar of life that we learn and grow from.
Managing the Messy
The easiest and the best plan for the messiness is to learn how to manage it. If we know to expect it, even though we won’t know the time or place, we can be prepared. Being prepared is half the battle, we can have multiple plans in place, avoiding a complete stop in our days. Always having a backup plan or two helps a great deal too.
Before you start your day
Make a plan for the day. Have a neatly organized to-do list, a planned schedule, and follow your routines. Knowing what you plan to accomplish, even the order you plan to accomplish it in, will help you manage the messy. Create routines for mundane tasks. For example, create a cleaning schedule and routine. Rather than attempting to complete all activities in one day, spread them out evenly over the week. This will enable you to catch up the next day without feeling completely overwhelmed.
Take advantage of the calm moments to focus. When you encounter a calm moment, bask in it. Roll around in the calmness and enjoy every minute. Taking each moment as they come, embracing the chaos, and refusing to respond to it will ensure you remain in charge of the moment. Focus on the present moment, refuse to worry about the next moment.
Learn to roll with the flow. If you get stopped in traffic, ask yourself what you can safely accomplish. Can you make a phone call? Can you listen to a book on tape? Can you take the pause for yourself and play your favorite songs? Making the most of every moment will help you manage the chaos.
Learn to plan to get less done than you know you can. By not overplanning for your day, you provide wiggle room to counteract the messy or potentially get ahead in the week. The messiness becomes an issue, can threaten to take over, when you overextend yourself and when you over plan.
Pack snacks and protein bars to prevent missed meals. Skipping a lunch hour to get a few errands run is not a reason to skip a meal. Having backup meals packed with you will ensure you always have something good to snack on. Keep backup dinners on hand as well. I have 3 15-minute dinners I use on nights that cooking a full meal is not a great idea. Having a few shortcuts, backup plans, and making sure you are stocked up will keep the messiness at bay.
Planning for the messiness, knowing it is a certainty ensures you don’t succumb to it. There is nothing worse than realizing you lost an entire day or morning because of an unplanned event. Knowing how to plan for the unplannable, understanding chaos happens, will help you stay focused and on track, even in the worst of circumstances.
Sincerely,
Sara O
