One step at a time.

photo source.

I've been feeling stressed. Overwhelmed. The work keeps coming in, but I am not crossing things off of my list. I feel like I am facing a mountain of emails, and instead of making progress going up the side of it, the mountain is actually growing in front of me. I am a lucky girl in that I get to plan summer camps for high school students. That means Spring is my busiest time of the year. We are recruiting students, trying to woo speakers, ensuring that all of the logistical things like room reservations on college campuses 70 miles away are being taken care of...it's my job, and it's fantastic, but I've been feeling overwhelmed.

I tried to figure out how I could be less static and crazy in my day-to-day life and more intentional so I don't feel so out of control. What I've discovered is, I need to take it one problem at a time. (Shocking!) I know that this is realized all over the world, but on Thursday, I decided that instead of freaking out over my 40+ overdue email messages, I was going to take them one at a time.

Figure out the problem.
Find a solution.
Fix the problem.
Move on to the next problem.

Yes, this sounds like it'd take far longer than it should. Yes, this is common sense. And yes, sometimes, when you are overwhelmed, you just need to take a step back. Because I did, problems were handled thoroughly. Instead of just typing away, I planned. People who were receiving my emails were sent well thought-out answers and solutions. And I felt calm the whole day.

In other words, it worked.

Try it sometime. Have a bunch of clean clothes lying around your house? Put them away, one drawer at a time. Have Easter decorations still lying around? Take them down, one room at a time. Need to edit papers? Edit one at a time. Intentionally.

Focus. Slow down. Take a breath.

You can surmount the mountain, one step at a time. I'll see you on the other side.