Are You Feeling March Madness?

It's here - March Madness!

For busy professional women, that isn't a reference to the NCAA basketball tournament. March Madness is usually characterized by the onslaught of employee requests for Friday afternoons off, the start of spring kids' sports seasons and a to-do list a mile long for spring cleaning, yard work and other tasks that had been hibernating.

It can be enough to make you want to crawl in that groundhog's burrow!

The toughest part can be that it feels like all of this is hitting at once. Events, invitations and to-dos are coming at you faster than the tulips are blooming. It can be overwhelming and tiring just thinking about the logistics. Yet, you know that you are better equipped to handle these multiple demands more than most. It is just a matter of getting systems and schedules into place to handle it all.

Here are 3 quick tips that you can use this week to help you maximize your time and tame that spring scheduling challenge:

March Madness...

• Map it out. Literally take everything you know about and put it on ONE calendar. Some of my clients keep separate calendars for work and home. One of the first things we do is put all of this in one place. It helps you immediately see conflicts between, say, an early morning sports practice and a 7:30 a.m. breakfast meeting with a client. Plus, it is just more efficient to be able to look one place, one time.
• Get help - and give some too. Stop the guilt train in its tracks and realistically think about calling another neighborhood or school mom, your husband, your reliable babysitter and getting them lined up now. Don't wait until the day or the night before. It creates stress you don't need - whether due to the last minute rush or to the chance that no one is available. There will also be times that you can help - do it. Not because you owe anyone, but because helping others is part of what living a full life without settling is about.
• Say NO. The "N" and "O" were capitalized purposely. This is a strong statement for most busy women professionals and executives. It can feel like admitting defeat. It's not. It is taking a stand for what works in your life, your families' life and your world. Don't wallow in indecision thinking it will get easier either. It won't. Turn the guilt off. Turn the logic and balance on.

All of these steps are fairly simple in what they ask you to do. Yet, they may not seem easy once you try to implement them and really take action. If that seems to be true for you, start with one. Do it within the next 24 hours and see the difference it makes for you.

Then move on to the other two - can you see how you would use them over the coming week to gain some sanity and control over your spring schedule? Is it sharing carpooling duty to the soccer field? Maybe it’s being less involved in that spring charity fundraiser than last year. What about hiring the neighborhood teen to do the initial spring yard clean up?

Each of these tips work any time of the year, so feel free to share and use them over and over. Let me know how you are using these and if you pass them on!