When the Going Gets Tough

  Ok friends, ever get into one of those phases of life where you are facing a mental or emotional crisis, and you can't seem to manage juggling all the things you usually do?  I am going to share with you tonight the way to "keep it all together" when you just can't "keep it all together."  You can keep your life relatively in order and functioning even when you are not at 100%, and I've got a few suggestions to help you with doing that.

1.  Keep track of deadlines.
     Ok, if you do not happen to be a super organized person, do yourself a humongous favor and get a planner.  You can do this digitally or on paper, but it needs to be somewhere where you will see it and see it often.  I personally use an App, (Wunderlist) and a planner, several planners in fact.  Once you have a planner, start to write down every important date you need to be aware of.  This could be things like, deadlines to submit paperwork for your job, birthday parties, doctor's appointments, work schedules, travel plans, bills that need paid, etc.  The goal here is to not get caught unaware by events because you can always see what's coming next and be prepared for it.  No more of those "Oops I forgot we have snack for soccer tonight, maybe I can sneak out during the game and get something" moments.  Then, even if a crisis hits, you become ill, or something comes up which pulls you out of your norm, you know the main things which need to be done and when.

2.  Know your priorities.
     If you're like me, there are probably a lot of things you do throughout your day which help your life run more smoothly but are not necessities.  Things like sweeping floors,  getting the mail, even mowing the yard, or hosting lunch on Sunday's for your family are all things which can be delegated or rearranged or just left undone if life hits you with one of those disrupting curve balls.  Figure out what you can and can't live without.  For me, my son's appointments can't be skipped, but getting the dog's toenails trimmed can wait another week.  I also know it's a priority for me to have my Scripture reading, praying, and writing time daily.  I just don't function without it, so if it comes down to putting on my makeup or getting a little time with God in, I pick reading the majority of the time.  Know what you have to do, and know what you can let go or pawn off for a bit.  Not every season will be as demanding as the one you might be facing, so cut yourself a break and learn to let a few things drop if you need to.

  Ultimately, we don't always get warnings about when our life is going to make a dramatic shift, but we can stay afloat if we take the time to be organized and know our priorities.  Know that if you're in  rough phase, it won't stay this way forever, and you can come through it stronger and wiser than ever.  Keep paddling towards the goal, and hang on to what's most important.  I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.W.