We have all had those days (or series of days) where nothing seems to go according to plan. Mine began this past friday morning when my 17 month old woke up with a fever and obviously felt terrible. Instead of me getting to the gym for my hour of Bodypump and going out to lunch with the kids and my in-laws, the kids and I spent all day sitting on the couch watching Nick Jr. Definitely not what I had planned! By the end of the day, my 3 year old was climbing the walls because he was tired of sitting around. My 17 month old still felt terrible and didn’t want to be set down. Here we are on Monday morning and things are starting to get back to normal, except that everything that I had on my agenda for Friday has gotten pushed to Monday and now there is twice the amount to get done.
For whatever reason on any given day our schedules get derailed. It could have been a broken down car, an illness, traffic or the weather, but there are plenty things in our busy lives that can make our day fall apart. The key to getting through days like this is the remember:
- Some things are just out of our control!
- Don’t stress, most of the things on our to do list are not life and death items.
- Tomorrow is a new day!
From an organizational perspective, we now need to focus on what happens with today’s to do list when we get derailed.
- If there is something that ABSOLUTELY needs to get done today: delegate it or call in a favor to get it done. Have your neighbor give you a ride to the car repair place. Have a family member/friend watch the kids for an hour or two. Ask a co-worker, employee or even your boss to handle the situation. There is always a way to get something done if it really needs doing.
- Prepare yourself for a busy day when you are back in the swing.
- Reallocate some things on your to do list to other days so that you have a more reasonable amount of work to get done.
The biggest thing to remember when you get a day (or two) like this is that, “this too shall pass”. It happens to everyone….even organizers!