A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to an episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast. I have a complicated relationship with my feelings about the show, but this episode hit me at the right time. There was a discussion about stress and anxiety and how to move through tough times and decisions. The big takeaway was to answer the question, “How can this be easy?”
That question is now on a sticky note attached to my monitor where I can see it every day. It’s going to be my guiding question for at least this first quarter, if not the entire year.
For me, making something easier often means finding a way to lower the stakes. There have been so many BIG stakes things in my life this past year, and my mental and physical health can’t support any more high-stakes pressure. My writing career is important, but I need a pressure release valve.
In a previous post, I mentioned how I started thinking about my goals as a projects menu, rather than a to-do list. Turns out, this has been a great way for me to release some pressure and lower the stakes!
How can just changing the name of a goals sheet make everything easier?
With most lists, I feel pressure to cross off every item. Clear the decks! (You don’t know the satisfied sigh I let out at just the THOUGHT of clearing some decks right now! I’ll probably do a future post on this.) But that’s a nearly impossible task. Especially if you’re like me and always have new ideas and a ton of responsibilities and are always adding things to the lists. (Yes, I’m my brain’s own worst enemy sometimes.)
So I wrote the word MENU at the top of one page, and it’s helped shift me out of that completion-driven mindset.
My mental health suffers when I take long breaks, so I like to keep forward motion with projects. But lately, I’ve had to admit my energy isn’t finite. Especially my thinking energy. If I don’t want to keep burning out regularly, my brain needs breaks. Or at least the ability to shift between bigger/smaller or heavier/lighter projects.
As long as I keep moving forward on some of the menu items some of the time, I’ll knock most of them out by the end of the quarter or year, instead of crashing and burning trying to get it all done or forcing myself through one big project without a break.
Now, I can look at all the projects on the list as tasty tasks to pick and choose from as my mood and hunger strike each month. Trouble getting started and need something small to get rolling? Appetizer task time! Got lots of energy and time? Grab a big, chewy steak project! Or maybe a ton of little things I’ve been putting off (Eat your vegetables! Or, my favorite, side dishes as a meal!). Bored? Need a boost? Can’t handle one more commitment? Pick a super fun dessert project that has no obligations except to excite my tastebuds!
The Projects Menu is exactly the kind of energy management system I need right now. Forward progress without a giant to-do list. My pressure release valve.
I made a menu. Now it’s your turn to release some pressure.
How can you make things easy?