Welcome to another episode of Distress with Dr. E. So interestingly, I am recording the 10th episode. I'm so excited about this because it's been a journey and I'm loving every bit of it, and I'm appreciating all your feedback, you know, and all your. Shares and everything related to the podcast. So today I'm going to be sharing an interesting topic. So this is something, this is a question that, um, um, it's basically a response to a question that I've gotten recently from different people, which I'm going to frame into a topic, and that is how to do it all without overwhelm. Okay? So as working professionals, I know that we are. Invested in different spheres in different areas of our lives. So let me say for instance, you are a mom or a dad. You are an employee or an employer as in one person is all of this. You are someone's sister, someone's brother, you are. Could, could be a business owner or you are funding a different passion or a ministry, you know, or in your church or, or whatever you worship, you have, you have, um, a position there. You know, so all of these could be a lot. And if you are not intentional about how you handle these various fears of your lives, these various demands on your life, you can experience overwhelm, which can also lead to burnout. All right, so the question now is how will you able to juggle. All these various responsibilities, all these important aspects of your life, without the overwhelming feeling, without feeling that oh, oh, oh, oh, you are doing so much and you just need to rest. You just need to run away from everything because it feels like the world is closing up on you. So how do you. Manage or, or how can you stay sane while juggling these various responsibilities? That is what you're going to be learning from this particular podcast. So I could be speaking to just one person, or I could be speaking to the, uh, to the few persons that ask me this same question about myself. So for instance, myself, I have my job, you know, as a medical doctor, and, uh, I have this podcast, I have my coaching business that I run on the side. I'm a mom, two kids, and we brings me to a question someone asked me at workplace. She was like, Hmm, now how do you manage? She, she, okay. She told me she was like. I don't have any kids yet. Yet. I struggle to get up and take care of myself because by the time I'm back from work, I'm so exhausted to even do anything extra. But you, you have two kids. You still find time to go and make your hair. You still find time to, you know, put yourself together. Like how do you do this in addition to your job? Okay, so it's not going to be a record, record science that I'm going to be sharing with you. It's just something as practical as possible, because the more practical it is, the easier it is to replicate, you know. So the goal of this session is for you to begin to thrive in those various areas without the overwhelm, without that burnout, without feeling like running away from your job, whether it's running from your job, or running from parenting, or running from anything at all. So I'm going to break it down into five easy steps, just five. So the first one is. It's very simple, which is write them down. So there is usually this temptation we get to, um, leave everything in our heads. You know, you have so many things you want to do. You have activities for your children, you have activities for your workplace. You have targets to achieve. You have business proposals to write. You have a summit to run. You have different things to do, and you just leave them in your head and like, okay. With each one you remember, you execute it. Let me tell you something, so long as you just overload everything in your head, you haven't organized them properly, and that could be, and it can send a signal to your brain that you are mentally stressed. Before you know it, you're experiencing all the signs and symptoms of stress, including forgetfulness. Including struggling to concentrate. And when you find yourself in these situations, you, it'll even frustrate you more because you know there are so many things you're supposed to do, but you just can't pinpoint exactly how to do it or which one it is that requires your attention right now. So first of all, start by staying organized by writing down all the various responsibilities that is expected of you. Okay, write it down. Make it clear. That's where you also inter, you're also letting your brain sim understand that you've simplified everything so they're not joggled up in your brain cussing or triggering, uh, stress responses. Okay? So after you've written everything down, now, the second thing you're going to do is to prioritize. Remember, you are one person, so whether you like it or not, so many things will be re will be looking for you or will be requesting your attention. So it's very important for you to prioritize your life. Every moment. Okay, let me say, um, like this year, you want to prioritize your job because that's the source of your income. I'm just saying, for instance, you want to prioritize, um, your family because after everything, you're going back to your family. You want to just prioritize things that are really, really important to you. That means in all the things you've written down you are going to do. That you're going to do them each day or that you're going to say, oh, I'm thriving each day. Is that the ones that are priority are giving attention. Okay. That's, you've given attention to the ones that are priority. Okay. Let me give an instance. You, um, you have your job and there's an email that has been sent to you that you need to attend to regards to your job. But then because there are other things that are also requiring your attention, you forget that email and the deadline for you to submit that stuff has passed. And then when you realize it, it's late. And this is an email that is very, very important to you in your workplace. Your salary is tied to it, your confidence is tied to it, and you start getting, uh, subsequent emails querying you on why you didn't respond to that email. What are you going to say? Are you going to say, oh, I was so busy. I didn't have time. It's just because he didn't prioritize it. Okay, so if you don't prioritize the, prioritize your life or prioritize your activities, other things that aren't necessary or that aren't urgent and important will take your, will take the place because as humans. In that 24 hours, there is something seeking our attention. Even if you just want to rest, you realize that your brain is going, is thinking, Hmm, there is something else I should do, I'm not doing. So there is something that wants to fuel your time per time or per hour. That is why some of us want to be on the phone, you know, just for something to just fill in that time because it's going to be difficult to just stand to the space doing nothing and time is passing. So. The best thing for you to do is prioritize your life so that you have time for things that are really, really important to you. And the other things that are not so important and urgent, they can take the backseat because you know that if those ones are not attended to, nothing will spoil. Nothing will get missing. Okay, so prioritize. All right. And now the third one is be aware of time wasters. So when people say, I don't have time in 24 hours, sometimes or most of the time you realize that there are certain time wasters that are stealing time from them. The most obvious one is social media. So remind me of a time you said, oh, let me just check Instagram for five minutes, and after five minutes I'm done. I'm done. Done. Remind me of a time that some, that something like that happened. You realize that when you go on Instagram, that five minutes is going to translate to, uh, to 20 minutes. And in some cases one R because by the time you start scrolling, it's like an endless bottom bit. There is something, something interesting after the other. Something interesting after the other. The gist never ends. The stories never ends. But do you know the interesting part? If you don't watch those things, if you don't catch up on that gist, nothing will spoil in your life. So that fear of missing out is just a, what do they call? Is it facet or what? Or faade? I said it before. The English should not be the end of me. So it's just like a fallacy, you know? So that fear is not real. That fear of missing out is not real because if you don't catch up on that gist, the world will still continue. What's waiting for you will continue to wait for you. Okay? So be intentional about this time, wass. Then in situations where you know that there are so many things. To do and you know that there are machines that can help you simplify the processes that can make it easier for you to run the processes, why not employ the machine? It's just, this is one of the reasons why I'm so thankful for washing machines still today. So imagine not the time I would've spent in washing so many people's in washing all the clothes and, and I'll just put them in the washing machine and it'll save me time while I use that time for other things. So I'm not saying yours is going to be washing machine. It's just for you to be intentional or to be aware of things that are likely going to take your time and, uh, and, uh, probably you can delegate it to someone else or you can pay someone if you can afford it to help you do it. Now the first one, which is my favorite, is scheduling your activities. In fact, if you call me right now and tell me we are going to meet tomorrow two A, sorry, 2:00 PM. Once you drop the call, or even as you're talking, I'm putting it on my Google calendar meeting tomorrow, two 2:00 PM So I don't miss scheduling even the tiniest detail because this is me staying organized. If I don't do that, I'm a juggle up activities. I am bound to forget important things, and I'm also bound to miss out on something that is really important I should have attended to. So I. Every single thing because I know that I am involved in so many activities and I'm somebody that wants to show up and show up. Correct? As in, I don't want to be someone that you can't rely on. I want a situation where, okay, you call a zine and you want her to do something for you, for you, you are very certain that she's going to show up and do that thing for you. Okay? That is why I employ the, the help of my Google Calendar. So. If I'm going to work like, um, in accident and emergency department, some days we are working two to 10. Some days we are working, um, um, 6:00 PM to 4:00 AM you know, this kind of irregular shifts. I schedule everything so that I don't tell you I'm going to be there for you. During my work hour, whereas during my work hour, and then when I realized that I'm working that particular time, I'll start calling you to tell you, oh, I'm sorry. I won't be able to make it. No, I don't want that for myself, and I don't want to be disorganized for any reason. That is why I use my Google calendar to schedule. Every single thing. So if you see my go calendar is like so many things are going on. No, this is me staying organized, including even when I'm going to make my hair is scheduled in my calendar, you know? So after you scheduled the activity, now the final one, which you may not know or which you will not expect, is scheduling your rest because. There's some it. It's somehow that you have so many things you are doing. You're showing up for everybody. You're showing up for every activity, but then at the end of the day, you are burnt out, you're overwhelmed, or you just can't show up because you've called in sick. And you know, the thing about calling in sick regularly, you are going to be so, so unreliable as in it's, I I I'm, I'm not talking about, uh, when the sickness is, um, is as a result of probably a chronic condition. No, I'm talking about sickness as a, as a result of pulling managed stress. Okay. So when you are calling in sick all the time that you're tired, you can't show up, it's going to give up this vibe that, okay. I don't want to rely on her. Let me get a backup. Okay? Or no. I don't trust that he or she can do this work because they may disappoint last minute. So instead of calling in sick or just shutting down suddenly without any pre-warning, any communication, nothing at all. Instead of that to happen, why don't you schedule your rest? So the same way you've scheduled all your activities in your calendar, there should be at least one day or some hours where you are just doing nothing. I. Okay, and while you are doing all of this, please re remember, be intentional. Listen to your body, whatever your body's communicating, please do not ignore it. It's just like yesterday I was doing so many work. I was doing a very, very important job on my computer and by the time I finished, oh my God, I was having body pains and it was just, it was just 5:00 PM So. If it was the previous aine, I will continue to push through, continue to push through and tick off more things on my boxes until late in the night. But the AINE now is my body has communicated that it needs rest. That means I am done for the day because I need this body to be whole, and I need the mind to be seen to. Be there for my family. Okay? So I'm not giving into any form of stress that will make me not to show up and show up correct for the people that are really, really important to me. So schedule your activities and also schedule your rest. Now, I've given you the secret to how you can thrive and do all the things you, you want to do without the overwhelm. What are you going to do next? What are you going to do next? So. This is your sign, okay, to make 2024 your best thriving year or your most organized year. Remember, I'll just list them again. Write down everything that you are involved in. Number two, prioritize it all. Number three, be aware of time wasters and avoid them. And then number four, I. Schedule your activities and then on your on the Go Doc, on Google Calendar or any scheduling app you're using. And then finally schedule your rest. If you found this really, really helpful, I encourage you. Please share my podcast to your work colleagues, your friends, and everyone that is important to you, so that everyone can thrive without that burden of stress, burnout, and overwhelm. Okay, cheers. And thank you for joining me