There are many times when life just feels a bit overwhelming. You know the saying: so much to do; so little time. We rush from place to place or from one project to another. And don’t even get me started on admin lists. Do we ever reach the bottom of those god forsaken lists?

If you are anything like me, I have constant reminders in my head that refuse to keep quiet; don’t forget to send that contract, don’t forget to send in a cereal box for school and don’t forget to pay the plumber. The list goes on. Some days I feel like I live in a constant state of creative chaos. I love to be busy but on the flip side, that means that I find it hard to switch off.

My life is an iPhone running low on battery, a pile of books by my bed which I haven’t read yet and two disused coffee mugs on my sideboard. I also realised that I was sleeping well. I’d often fall asleep replaying my day in my head, searching every interaction and conversation for mistakes so I could improve on.

I try to keep organised by writing notes on my iPhone. This helps to get things out of my head, but give me a piece of paper and I will lose it in seconds. My mum gave me a list of dates she could help look after the children over the summer holidays but I had already misplaced it by the time she had left my house. I mean…how? I genuinely don’t know what I do with these pieces of paper.

Being creative is a good thing and many of us have amazing ideas popping into our heads all the time. For me, they are like little bubbles going off in my mind. The only downside, is that, when I start working on one idea, I think of something else and go down a rabbit hole researching that idea instead. I then take a glance on my iPhone and whoops, I go down another rabbit hole watching Instagram stories I didn’t need to watch.

Now…where was I?

I am a reasonably organised person, but I have days when I just feel like I am dropping every ball available. I assume I am not alone in feeling like this? I insist on setting myself many goals. Goal after goal and when I don’t reach them all, I feel a pang of disappointment.

We all know that the prospect of ‘having it all’ is hard. Many of us want a wonderful career, a good love life and a happy family but it can be hard to give 100% of our energy to all of those things, all of the time. So, I started reaching out for help. I tried to break down my responsibilities into bite sized chunks and recruited an assistant to help me with my blog emails and tasks. Then, when I get offered help and support both at home and at work, I will accept it. Saying ‘no’ to someone who is offering to help you just because you are proud isn’t smart.

Anxiety about having enough time is one of the biggest causes of stress, so it is vital that all we all find time and space for calm in our day. In an effort to declutter my busy mind, I made a promise to myself to get outdoors for at least twenty minutes every day, either through a walk or a jog. Nature has such a powerful, calming influence to change our mood and bring clarity to our thoughts. It has already made a positive impact on how I focus and work through the list of what is really important that day.

I still procrastinate over how I am going to achieve all the crazy goals I have set myself, but by breaking my goals down into smaller chunks, I already feel like I a have got a much higher chance of achieving them. I reminded myself that I was in control of my own circumstances and in turn, I am in control of my own actions. Being kinder to myself and creating more headspace for my thoughts means I have a higher chance of making better decisions on what’s really important in my life right now.

How do you deal with all that mental clutter?