When Life Gets Busy: A Gentle Reminder to Check In With Yourself

If you've been feeling overwhelmed lately, you're not alone.

For years, I've known that one of my biggest triggers for feeling overwhelmed is when life gets busy. When my diary fills up, there are more decisions to make, more people needing my time, and before I know it, my brain starts to feel like it has twenty tabs open.

Life has felt busy for me recently.

Not necessarily bad busy. In fact, much of it has been filled with lovely things. Family celebrations, weddings, work, travel, helping others... all things I genuinely wanted to be part of.

But it reminded me of something important.

Even when life is full of good things, it can still leave us feeling mentally full.

A lot of women I've been speaking to have felt this as well so you might recognise that feeling too.

Busy Doesn't Always Mean Stressed

One thing I've learnt is that being busy and being overwhelmed aren't the same thing.

Busy is often just a season of life.

Overwhelm is what can happen if we move through that season without giving ourselves the support we need; the mental load of everyday life can leave us feeling exhausted, but recently I have noticed I have naturally weaved in some simple habits that help me stay grounded when life gets busy.

A few years ago, a period like this would almost certainly have left me feeling completely overwhelmed. This time though, although I had moments where I felt mentally full or emotionally drained, it never reached the same level.

Why?

Because I already knew what I needed. It might have taken me 44 years to get here, but better late than never, I say!

Learning to Recognise the Warning Signs

Self development doesn't mean difficult feelings disappear.

I still noticed moments where I felt:

• mentally cluttered

• a little more impatient than usual

• emotionally drained

• restless, even when I finally sat down

• like I needed everyone to stop asking me questions for just five minutes

The difference was that I recognised those feelings much earlier.

Instead of pushing through and hoping they'd disappear, I saw them as information.

My mind and body weren't telling me I was failing.

They were simply letting me know it was time to reconnect with the things that help me feel calm and grounded.

Knowing What Brings You Back to Yourself

Learning to regulate your nervous system doesn't have to be complicated.

For me, two simple things made a huge difference.

Every day when I woke up I made sure I spent time completing my morning journal, after listening to my morning meditation (a simple 20 minute morning routine that has reduced overwhelm significantly for me).

Not because it magically reduced my to-do list, but because it stopped my thoughts from swirling around in my head.

I also made sure I went for my daily swim.

One afternoon I left it much later than usual. As soon as I got into the water, I remember thinking,"I should have done this earlier."

Not because swimming solved every problem.

But because I'd learnt that it's one of the quickest ways for me to regulate my nervous system and reconnect with myself.

That awareness didn't happen overnight.

It came from paying attention.

What Helps You Feel Like You Again?

Your anchors might look completely different from mine.

Maybe it's:

• sitting in the garden with a cup of tea

• reading a few pages of your book

• walking the dog without your phone

• cooking your favourite meal

• listening to music while you potter around the house

• spending ten quiet minutes outside looking at the stars

• writing everything down that's filling your mind

• taking a few slow, deep breaths before moving on to the next thing

None of these moments need to take hours.

Often it's the smallest pauses that make the biggest difference.

Create Your Own Anchor List

We all have to-do lists.

But what if we also had an anchor list?

A list of the simple things that anchor us in the moment. That help us feel calmer and more like ourselves.

Not because life will stop being busy.

But because busy seasons are part of life.

The goal isn't to avoid them...That's impossible.

The goal is to know what helps you stay anchored while you're living through them.

A Gentle Reminder

If life feels particularly busy right now, this is your reminder to pause for a moment.

Not because everything has to stop.

But because you matter too.

Ask yourself one simple question:

What do I need today?

The answer doesn't have to be big or complicated.

Sometimes it's a journal.

Sometimes it's a walk.

Sometimes it's ten minutes in the garden.

And sometimes, that tiny act of checking in with yourself is enough to stop a busy season becoming an overwhelming one.

So if you take away one thing from me, let it be this: Looking after yourself during busy seasons isn't selfish, it's essential.

I hope you've found this useful; if you want to hear me talk about this check out my podcast Loving Life - A Guide to a Positive Mindset

Lisa xx