How To Simplify Your Super Packed Schedule

Trying to stuff too much into my schedule is a weakness for me! I’ll go stretches where I keep what I’m doing in check, but soon I’m back to super packed status. It’s quite painful!

I had the privilege of studying abroad one summer after sophomore year in college. It was an amazing learning experience! While in Paris, the highlight for me was not the learning, but a beautiful pair of red flats that I purchased – a souvenir of sorts! Red is my favorite color, so they had that going for them, and they reminded me of a delightfully happy adventure in my life.

The problem was that the shoes were just a touch too small! You see, I have a very narrow foot and all too often shoes slip in the heel for me after wearing them a few times. I had hoped that my treasured red flats would stretch out and get more comfortable with wear. Sadly, this never happened! Instead, each time I wore the beautiful red shoes, they really pinched! Blisters formed – it was painful!

Those red shoes are no longer a part of my shoe collection, but the memory of those shoes lingers! Their beauty, the wonderful adventure, and the pain, oh the pain!

The Pain of A Super Packed Schedule!

My schedule often feels like those beautiful red shoes. I have a tendency to try to cram more into a day than is possible.

The result: I really feel the squeeze! Frustration, stress, and breathing issues ensue. You see, when I take on too much, my body rebels. It speaks loud and clear and lets me know that I’m overextending myself.

While you may not experience breathing issues like I do. Your body may have its own way of trying to get your attention to let you know you’ve exceeded your limits.

Do you experience…

• Aches, pains, and sore muscles?
• Headaches or migraines?
• Anxiety?
• Heart palpitations?
• Skin breaking outs?
• Feeling tired?
• Insomnia?
• Hair falling out?
• Colds or bugs?
• Teeth grinding?
• Digestive issues?
• Breathing or respiratory problems?

It takes a toll when you exceed your human limits! Do that for extended periods of time and it’s actually harmful, not to mention mighty stressful.

When you try to exceed your limits there’s a price to pay.

What Gets You Adding More?

Have you ever stopped to consider why your schedule gets so packed in the first place? I have! It’s sobering! Here a few of my own reasons:

• I have an abundance of ideas and projects I want to accomplish. Big ambitions!
• I’m driven – I love a challenge!
• I like doing a bunch of different kinds of things.

And a few reasons I would prefer not to share with you like…

• Fear often keeps me striving to accomplish some very good things for the wrong reasons.
• I don’t always leave room for God. His time frame and mine are not always in sync, so I resort to “helping” Him. I know that sounds crazy – trying to help out the God of the universe!
• I don’t like to disappoint people so I take on more than I need to.
• I like tasks done a certain way which keeps me from delegating more.

Unfortunately, I don’t function at my best when my schedule is overflowing. My creativity goes out the window, I’m less patient, and I make more mistakes! The treasured people in my life steer clear – yes, the people I love the very most! Joy? It’s missing!

God’s been seriously challenging me to align my life with His plan and that includes the way I choose to schedule my days and what I attempt to check off my to do list. If I want to excel in my work and have a positive impact on those God allows to cross my path, then keeping my schedule in check is essential! That means simplifying!

SIMPLIFY:

To reduce to basic essentials.
To narrow in scope or complexity; streamline.
And to clear away the clutter or excess; clarify.

If the idea of simplifying your schedule is appealing to you, here are some questions to ponder:

1. What’s REALISTIC?

Has the world’s emphasis on success and the frantic activity that goes along with that got you overestimating what you are capable of doing? Perhaps your desires are driving you – the desire to please others, gain significance, or achieve, that are enticing you to take on an unrealistic load?

A few signs that you aren’t being realistic…

• • • Tasks linger undone on your to do list because your list is far too long.
    • You find yourself regularly engaged in back-to back activities with no margin.
    • You regularly find yourself staying up later and later and/or getting up earlier and earlier.
    • Too often, time with the important people in your life gets squeezed out.
    • You neglect your health – rest, diet, exercise, etc.
    • Self-care is slated for some day, but some day never comes.
    • You are restless.

The truth is, you have 24 hours just like everyone else does.

2. What Are Your PRIORITIES?

Is the urgent hijacking your priorities? Emails, texts, and phone calls often feel critical. Disruptions are inevitable. There are a million different things fighting for your attention – many of them even good things!

If you don’t know what your priorities are, how will you know what to invest your limited time into?

By definition, it’s not possible for everything to be a priority! A priority is what’s most important.

It’s important to know what’s most important to you…

• • • Overall, as a person: your values. More on that later.
    • For this year: your goals for the year, your One Word, etc.
    • This month: In light of your goals for the year, how will you narrow the focus for this month to maximize your efforts? What three areas you will zero in on?
    • This week: For the greatest impact, what will you focus on this week?
    • Today: What are the Top 3 Priorities today? That doesn’t mean you won’t get other tasks done, but you are intentionally choosing to do what’s most important first.

3. How Will You Honor Your VALUES?

If you have not yet identified your To 5 Values, I encourage you to do that now! To have clarity around your values is life changing!

My Top 5 Values are:

• • • Relationships (including God, family, & friends)
    • Communication
    • Stewardship (stewarding all that God’s given me including my health, resources, time, etc.)
    • Creativity
    • Practicality

When my schedule is overloaded, my relationships are compromised, my communication suffers, I am not stewarding my time well, my creativity is diminished, and the way I am doing life is far from practical.

Your values will differ from mine! What are your Top 5 Values? How is your schedule honoring them?

4. Are You TRUSTING God?

When my schedule is super packed, it’s a sign that I’m NOT trusting God or following His lead. He’s made it clear in scripture that His burden is light and that carving out time to rest and observe the Sabbath is His heart for me.

Do I trust Him enough to slow down and do what He deems most important? Sometimes it’s a sacrifice to invest my energy into what He’s asking me to do over what my human brain considers imperative.

When I do slow down, follow His lead, and attempt to tackle less, there’s space for God to work on my behalf (Oh, I love how He shows up!) and I actually do better work!

Sometimes, what God’s asking of you is outside your comfort zone and terrifying! That too requires faith!

5. What’s Your PLANNING Process?

Now that you know what your priorities are, you are poised to plan!

My planning process includes…

• • • A four-hour block of time at the beginning of the year to prayerfully consider what God’s wants me to accomplish this year. What are the measurable outcomes for those goals and the everyday actions needed to reach those goals?
    • On the first day of each month, I schedule two hours to review the previous month. Details here.
    • Each morning, I spend about 15 minutes determining what my Top 3 Priorities are for the day. My plan looks like this:

6. What Do You Need To SUBTRACT?

A simple schedule requires regular subtracting. That takes practice because subtracting is hard!

Subtracting is more than a habit, it’s a mindset of regularly asking yourself “Is that role, that meeting, that task, really necessary?” Even small tasks add up and before you know it your schedule is complicated…again!

If you are a leader or entrepreneur, perhaps it’s time to delegate more!

It’s no coincidence that those shoes were red – because when you live in the red it always pinches! You don’t have to limp through life with blisters like my beautiful red shoes gave me!

Longing for a less packed schedule? What would simplifying look like for you?

Originally posted on 3/16/18, this post has been updated and revised just for YOU!