Create a "Get a Grip" List

With all the things to be done, life can quickly spiral and feel a bit overwhelming.

You look around and your space is a mess, your email is overflowing, and you have nagging items on your “to do” list that have been there for weeks.

We are finishing all the urgent and important items. You feel good that key work deadlines have been met and no kids have been forgotten at school.

Yet, the less important, less urgent items are piling up and creating an underlying cause of stress.

Thinking about the times I’ve been there, the concept of “stewing is worse than doing” came to mind.

The idea is that sometimes we think an activity will take more time than it does. We spend more time worrying about the task than doing it.

This made me wonder what we could do to get over this and possibly make life a little less overwhelming.

My Perspective – The Get a Grip List

My idea is to create a personal “Get a Grip” list. Here’s the process:

List Get a Grip Projects: Start your Get a Grip document by listing all the items that are stressful during busy times. For me, three examples would be – Appointments that need to be scheduled, a space (kitchen & office especially) that needs tidying up, and making dinner.
Time the Projects: The next time you do the projects on the list above, time yourself. Then, write that time next to the activity on the Get a Grip list.
Create Strategies: For items on the list that take more than 10 minutes, create a strategy. My example of no time to make dinner might have me create a menu for the week of simple and quick meals. If decisions getting dressed were stressful, maybe you set up a “go-to” weekly wardrobe that you can leverage when you know you are going into an especially busy week.
Use the List: Now, keep the list handy for stressful times. When you pull the list out, a note that reminds you that making appointments will take less than five minutes might encourage you to do it quickly and remove the stress. The dinner strategy can allow you to pause and take a breath.

While a Get a Grip list won’t solve your stress, the goal is that it provides you a bit of relief in the moment. This too will pass.

Do you have a list of tasks and activities that regularly stress you out?

Are there strategies ready to handle these so they don’t add to your stress?

Would the Get a Grip list help you during especially busy times?