Exhausted? Stressed? Behind in every way?
I am going to share my 10 easy tips to help you get out and get ahead
This list covers 10 tips for those who need to infuse simplicity and self care on an emergency basis. This is also geared toward those who aren’t exactly in a position to start the Extreme Do-Over Experiment exercises yet due to lack of time, energy, patience, etc.
This may only be needed for a few days, a week, or could last longer. The point is to get to a place where you can start the Experiment with a good foundation of readiness, starting with these survival tactics.
I did these myself, but it evolved over time. Now that I’ve done them I can say that doing it from the start will make better sense and help you faster.
Let’s get started. 
Start by doing these things – with a focus of doing it for a minimum of one week:
1. Put an ‘away’ message on your email. It’s under ‘vacation settings’ on your email program.
The point of this is to condition those who demand your time and energy that you will get back to them WHEN you have time and energy. Here is what mine says:
In an effort to increase productivity and efficiency and catch up on multiple commitments, I am beginning a new personal email policy: I only deal with outgoing email twice per week.
If I do not respond in a timely fashion (ie, within a week) please feel free to nudge me with another email. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
If you have an urgent issue that must be addressed immediately, please email media {at} torreyshannon {dot} com and Anne Marie will be happy to assist you until I return.
Thank you for your understanding!
Obviously, I didn’t have Anne Marie working as my assistant when I first started this series and don’t expect others to hire her (or someone like her) off the bat or even get an assistant later. That step came later for me – for many reasons – and the honest truth is I can only afford a few hours of her help a month. I was able to oscillate into having her help only AFTER I did everything on this list. See how that works?
The original version of my away message didn’t give anyone the option to reach me on an emergency basis. I was that serious about taking time off.
The point is that you have to create a margin between yourself and those who are needing your time outside of immediate family (and personal) needs. If you condition everyone NOT to expect an immediate response, you just freed up your week! If it’s really, really urgent, they’ll email again (ie, the nudge) or call and leave a message.
Think it’s too drastic? Think again. People go on vacation and do this all the time. Consider this week (or more) your time for a much-needed vacation.
If you are addicted to checking your email, now is the time to start conditioning yourself to stop doing it multiple times a day. You’ll be surprised how much mental energy and stress you’ll save if you buckle down and GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION to do it this way.
2. Get paper/foam disposable plates, cutlery or cups. Also get crock pot liners (for item #6)
The point of this is to cut down the amount of housework you have to keep up with while going into preservation/survival mode.
3. Turn off your phone.
This takes self discipline, particularly if you are Johnny-on-the-Spot who answers every call no matter what. I have a cordless system with a talking Caller ID, so I allowed it to ring but screened every call. The ONLY time I would answer it is if the school was calling or some other emergency. Your mother in law can leave a voicemail. Your friends can even wait. If it is important, they can leave a message.
Even better? Unplug the sucker. If you don’t hear it ring, it’s not nagging at you to wonder who it is, feel guilty for not answering, etc.
I even have my cell phone on silent. 100% of the time.
Think it’s too drastic? It’s not. Who is to say you aren’t on vacation this week? What would happen if you were hospitalized and weren’t home for an extended period of time? People will understand! They’ll get over it! You HAVE to cut down on the demands of your time, energy, emotional stores, etc. Even if it is a good friend that you WANT to talk to (vent, cry, etc.) you NEED to schedule a time when you can be giving the caller your full attention and not trying to juggle anything else but the call. Don’t let others dictate how you shift your day. Once you start scheduling your calls, I am telling you it will be a HUGE relief.
Which brings me to….returning calls….
4. Return voicemails and make outgoing calls for only two days of your week: Tuesday and Friday are suggested.
I now return calls three times a week. At first it was only twice a week when I was in crisis mode, but I’ve settled on a final routine of three days for about 1.5 to 2 hours each of those days. This is actually one of the productivity tips I’ll get into more detail with later, but during your survival/crisis mode, stick to doing calls no more than two days. It forces you to be efficient and get to the point of the purpose of the call. If you know you have one hour left in your block of time to return calls, you won’t waste time you need for the last items (and probably the most important ones) on your list….
5. Increase your sleep.
When I am stressed out I can’t sleep. You get it, I know. This is exactly when you need to force yourself to do it. Go to bed earlier. Take a nap every day (and don’t forget to turn off the phones!). Take a sleeping pill if you have to. But get MORE SLEEP and don’t feel guilty for doing it. I recently started using the Sleep Cycle app on my iPhone and was shocked to see how little I was sleeping when I was most stressed. It’s a vicious cycle when you are sleep deprived (which you ALL know already) so make this an important part of your week.
6. Use the crock pot to cook – and do double batches of food to freeze the other half for later
Use the crock pot liners to cut down on scrubbing. My favorite sites for crock pot recipes:
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
(Feel free to tell me yours in the comment section below!)
7. Pamper yourself
Spend one night this week focusing on pampering yourself. I have instructions for a DIY pampering kit here:
8. Drink more water and start taking a multi-vitamin if you aren’t doing it already
If you are like me and can’t remember to take your vitamin (or remember any item that should be a habit every day), try the Lift.do app for the iPhone. You can enter any habit into your list and it will become a gentle reminder (and motivator) to get it done each day. By increasing your water and taking a multivitamin, you are hitting the most basic blocks of self care relating to your health. You will be surprised to find the difference it makes!
9. Call your doctor and schedule any overdue appointments
Seriously, adding more to your to-do list seems counterproductive, right? Not so. If you are stressed out or exhausted, this is the EXACT time you need to be seeing your doctor. When was the last time you had a checkup? A dental cleaning? Labwork? If it has been longer than a year, you need to get back on the bandwagon of basic self care. This way you can also eliminate some of the stress and infuse peace of mind to know that you aren’t tired due to some condition, or catch it early if it is the source of your exhaustion.
10. Breathe
Seriously, this is the easiest and most transformative thing you can do for yourself while getting out of crisis mode. More here:
Swift Kick in the Butt Series: The easiest thing you can do to transform your day
I hope you find any or all of my best tips useful. I will be back from my trip to DC tomorrow, so thank you for tuning in while I was away. Please take a moment to go visit my site sponsor and veteran resource at Wounded Warrior Home Front, Inc. Tell them that Torrey sent you, or better yet…click the link on the right-hand sidebar so I know you really did visit their site! By visiting their site right now, you can read more about their program, ways to contribute, apply for assistance and learn about great resources to help you with any unmet needs.
Thanks, and see you here real soon!