Walk, Don’t Run

Racing, racing, racing. It seems all I am doing this spring is racing from one thing to another.

If someone asks me how I am doing, I answer honestly: “Busy. Overwhelmed. We have a lot going on.” Do you feel this way too?

It’s a combination of normal life stuff—kids’ doctor appointments (including more endless sickness–truly when will it end?!), school events, soccer and ballet, and a busy time at work. But I also kind of feel like, how did this happen? How did I set up my time to be so tight? So nonstop that all the efforts I’ve previously written about—being present, finding time and space—have gone out the window?

I talked about this with my therapist and we came up with a mantra I thought I’d share to help you get through this season if you are feeling similar. “Walk, don't run.” My therapy homework was to make it my phone screen saver, which I did, and to remember this when I am feeling what I call “spinny”, i.e. my mind is racing with all the things I have to do and I’m living in this 7-steps-ahead-of-everything reality.

She also shared this truth bomb: racing to things doesn't make them get done any better. You can still get all the stuff done at a walking pace, not running.

So from now until probably the end of the school year I am trying to walk, not run through my (still packed) days. It takes some brain dumping of tasks and making lists to help be more organized, but remembering this does bring down my level of spinny.

I also want to try to plan ahead to schedule LESS for the summer (and even fall) to prevent this overload from happening again.

How are you handling all the things to do this spring? I’d love to hear from you on Instagram or email me at cdziembowski@dtownctc.org.