Eliminating Overwhelm Part XI: Managing Your Commitments

Overwhelm and stress increase in proportion to the sheer number of responsibilities and commitments you manage. To adopt a lifestyle with less stress requires that you take care in what you agree to do.

There are two parts to managing your commitments.

#1 – Assess your current state of affairs.

Make a list of all of your current obligations and commitments – everything you think you have to do. Use the “do it – delegate it – dump it” model.

• Do you need to do this? Can someone else do it for you? If so, who?
• What is the value is this activity? Is it adding to your life or does it drain you?
• Is it something you want to do?
• Who says you “have to”? Can you simply eliminate it?
• Are you procrastinating? Do you need to just schedule it and get it done?

An obligation, by its very definition, is something you have to do. However, most of the things you consider obligations may not in fact be requirements. Is there a contract stating you have to do this? Often, the “requirement” exists only in your mind.

When you operate under the idea of obligation, you have given away your power. You are not at choice but rather act because of the thought you have that tells you that you “have to.”

Coaching Tip: Obligations are thoughts. Anything you identify as a “have to” – even your work – imagine a way to approach it from a position of choice. Take back your power. You work because you choose to. You pay bills because you choose to have a phone and a car and electricity. Be grateful for your ability to work and to have the money to pay your bills. Come from choice rather than obligation.

#2 – Before saying yes to anything, give yourself permission to think about it. Tell the person you need five minutes, an hour, or 24 hours to give it consideration. If they insist you tell them right now then say “no”.

Do not rush to say yes without careful consideration. Take yourself seriously and take your commitments seriously. If you don’t, no one else will!

Taking on anything new requires that you are careful about what you put on your plate in the first place so with each new request, you have to consider certain things.

• Is this something you want to do?
• Is this the best use of your time?
• Are you the best person for the job?
• Is now a good time for you to partake in this effort?
• If you say no, what will be the consequences?
• If you say yes, what will be the consequences? What impact will it have on your time, on your other responsibilities and your other projects?
• Is this in alignment with your short term and long term goals? Will participating in this effort add value to you or deplete your resources?
• Do you have the time, energy, and resources to complete this in the time requested?
• Why are they asking this of you at this time? Are they avoiding the task or shirking the responsibility?
• Do they want your expertise? Are you being paid well or being rewarded for participating? Is it worth it?

Once you have carefully considered all these points, then you can say “yes” if you want to and choose to do so.

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it.

~ Julie Fuimano, The Journey Called YOU

Keep that in mind. Give yourself the option to say “no”.

Ultimately, the goal is to spend most of your time doing things you love to do and that are the best use of your limited and most important resource: TIME.

So as you go through your day, what things do you enjoy and what activities do you dread? The key to success: Do the right things for the right reasons and enjoy what you are doing because you are, in fact, at choice about how you are spending your time.

Your partner for success,

Coach Julie ~ Nurturing YOUR Success