Feeling like you are too busy in your life between work and personal responsibilities can be really overwhelming and quickly lead to burnout. If you want to keep your sanity without sacrificing what needs to be done every day, these tips can help tremendously.
They are all very small habits and slight adjustments to your schedule that will allow you to manage your busy schedule and nurture your emotional health at the same time.
25 Keep Your Sanity Tips
1. Be Intentional With Everything You Do
If you can start living and working with more intention, you will notice a big difference in your energy levels and how much you get done. This is different than just creating a to-do list every day and working on that. When you live more intentionally, everything you do throughout the day is something that is a priority in your life, has a purpose, and is done for a very specific benefit.
This means reducing the busy work and only working on what actually matters. Choosing what you want to get done that day, and what you need to say no to. Set your intentions before each busy day begins.
2. Stop Multitasking
When you have an extremely busy schedule, multitasking seems like the best method for getting everything done. But realistically, it is probably harming you more than helping you. What happens is that you are working on multiple different tasks or projects at one time, where your focus and energy is split up into each thing.
This actually slows down your productivity because you aren’t giving your full attention to any one thing. Each of these tasks ends up taking much longer and is more difficult to get through than if you were to just work on one at a time, before moving on to the next.
3. Wake Up a Little Earlier
When your schedule is full and you are busier than ever before, this is the time when you have to purposely adjust things in your day to fit in self-care and other personal tasks. You should not be spending all of your waking hours just with work and taking care of others. You also need to take care of yourself.
To keep your sanity, give yourself at least a few minutes in the morning just to yourself. This can be as simple as reading a chapter in a book, sitting in silence with your cup of coffee, doing yoga, or just waking up and relaxing in the silence before your day starts.
The only way this might be possible right now is to get up a few minutes earlier than you need to.
4. Make Sleep a Priority
It can seem counterintuitive, especially after being told to wake up a little earlier for your own sanity, but you also need to make sleep a priority. Chances are, you have more opportunities for extra sleep, but aren’t taking it. Whether you are losing out on extra sleep because of personal obligations or you simply keep working late into the evening, you are hurting your own emotional and mental wellbeing.
Sleep is essential if you want to keep up with productivity and get your work done. You need sleep not just for your own physical and mental health, but for your loved ones as well. With poor sleep, you won’t have the energy to take care of anyone else.
About an hour before you need to be in bed, start getting ready with a relaxing nighttime routine. Take a shower or bath, meditate, listen to soft music, turn off the TV, and turn off the notifications on your phone. Think about quiet and soothing activities like journaling, reading, creating something, or just resting in your bed doing some visualization exercise.
5. Use Social Media Less
Now is a great time to stop using social media so much. The first thing you can do is turn off social media notifications on your phone and tablet. That way, you aren’t constantly looking at notifications that remind you to check Facebook or Instagram.
Social media isn’t inherently bad, but it is very distracting and can cause more stress in your life. When you are extremely busy, this is only going to make it harder for you to focus and get things done. Plus, keeping your sanity is about more than just having a good work-life balance. It is about putting your mental wellbeing first, which sometimes means not knowing everything that is going on constantly.
If you use social media for work, you won’t be able to avoid it entirely. If this is the case, just use it once or twice a day, and keep the apps closed the rest of the time.
6. Spend Less Time on Your Phone
In addition to reducing social media time, spending less time staring at your phone in general is a good idea. Again, we aren’t talking about when you need to make a call or use your phone for work and other obligations. But there are likely many times, perhaps hours a week, when you don’t need to use your phone. You are doing so as a distraction or boredom or because you are procrastinating doing something you don’t want to do.
If you have a much too busy schedule, your phone is going to make it even harder to find time for yourself. Mindlessly scrolling through your phone isn’t “me” time unless it is something you thoroughly enjoy. You can better use that time for proper self-care and activities that really bring passion into your life.
7. Schedule in Time for Self-Care
Speaking of self-care, now is a great time to focus more on adding self-care to your routine. When you get too busy, the first thing to go is probably your own needs. Not necessarily things like hygiene and feeding yourself, but anything beyond that might feel unnecessary and like you don’t have time for it. But it’s still important!
In fact, during those times when you are extra busy, you need self-care even more. Right now, it might feel like there is absolutely no time for it, but you can make time. No matter what your schedule is like, there is always a little extra time to find. It might not be mor than 5-10 minutes a day but work with what you have.
Think about really simple self-care habits like using a face mask while you get ready for bed at night, spending a few minutes reading your favorite kind of book, going on a nice little walk in the morning before work, or just relaxing and participating in any type of activity that is just for you.
8. Do a Little Cleaning Every Day
Many people like to use the weekend as a time to finish their cleaning and chores, run errands, and do laundry when they are too busy during the week. The problem with this method is that it feels like you never get a break. You work crazy hours during the week, then spend your days off with all your other responsibilities. There is no time for a personal life, for fun, or for relaxing.
To free up some of your weekend hours, consider doing some of your cleaning and chores during the week. If you can spread them out, you won’t have quite as much to do during the week. Set a timer for just 10 minutes a day and go through your house to do as much cleaning as you can in that amount of time. It might not seem like much, but if Saturday comes and the dusting is done, your kitchen is clean, and you have already cleaned the toilets, there is at least a little more time for relaxing.
9. Don’t Work Through Lunch
This is a big mistake! These little habits are what make you think you can get more work done and keep you more productive, but like multitasking, they are probably hurting more than helping. You need your lunch hour to relax a little. Not just for eating, but for letting your brain and your body rest. If you are too tempted to eat in your office and work, then take your lunch outside!
Eat at a picnic table, eat in your car, drive somewhere, and have lunch with friends. Do whatever is necessary to prevent you from continuing to work through lunch and other breaks you have during the day.
10. Set Boundaries
When you are much too busy to get everything done, it is time to set some boundaries. There are many ways to set healthy boundaries in your life. For starters, don’t be afraid to say to anyone, whether at work or at home. If your boss already has a lot on your plate and tries to give you more work that isn’t in your job description, politely tell them you don’t have time.
Also set some boundaries in your personal life. Just because you have a Sunday coming up that is just for you, doesn’t mean you should help your friend with a ride to the airport. You are probably not the only one they can ask, and you are already running low on time as it is. Make sure your own needs are being met, otherwise you will quickly feel out of control and run down.
11. Keep Your Healthy Meals Simple
To keep your sanity during busy times, don’t neglect your health and just turn to junk food. This isn’t just bad for your waistline but will lower your energy and make it to where you don’t have the motivation to get all your work done.
A better idea is to keep eating healthy but simplify the process. Use a rotisserie chicken from the store instead of making your own chicken at home. Buy pre-cut veggies or frozen veggies that last a little longer. Make larger batches of food like soups and casseroles that you can save and freeze for later meals.
When you have the time to cook, cook more than one meal at a time, as it won’t take much longer than you were planning to spend, but you have meals for those nights when you don’t have time for anything.
12. Go on Mindful Walks
You can combine two important healthy habits in one by going on mindful walks. This will help you get good exercise and get outside for some natural vitamin D, while also helping you to practice mindfulness.
Mindful walking can be a form of meditation, where you simply think about whatever comes to mind, without having anything specific in mind. You tend to be more relaxed and let your thoughts flow naturally. You might find that you have a freer mind ready for new, creative ideas as well. Similar to taking a shower, walking outside in nature is a type of therapeutic experience that reduces the distractions of the home or office, and helps you open your mind to all the possibilities.
Again, don’t feel pressured to go on an hour walk if you have a busy schedule. Just a few minutes walking outside around your neighborhood or going for a walk on your afternoon break at work will still be beneficial.
13. Take Advantage of Every Free Minute
When your schedule is much too busy to actually schedule in free time or self-care, just take advantage of those random smaller periods of time. Even if it is just 1-2 minutes before your next meeting, sit in your office with the door closed in silence and be mindful. Pick up a book and read a few pages until you get the call you were waiting for. Enjoy your commute to and from work every day by listening to soothing music or an audio book.
There are so many little moments throughout the day when you can free your mind of your worries and keep sane even with the busiest of schedules. Whether you finish a task early or someone cancels your lunch plans, take full advantage of these unexpected blocks of time.
14. Reexamine Your Daily Priorities
To maintain your sanity and improve your mental health while you have a busy schedule, take some time to look at your priorities and see if any adjustments need to be made. It is a good idea to do this routinely, as a project might change directions multiple times, and you can adjust your schedule as well.
What is currently a priority to you each day? What do you absolutely have to get done? What is something you assumed would be helpful, but isn’t actually necessary anymore? You might find a few smaller tasks that you really don’t have to do anymore or you don’t need to spend as much time on, therefore freeing up a little more time for other things.
15. Manage Your Stress in Healthy Ways
Stress can feel a lot more burdensome with a packed schedule. When work gets stressful, that stress tends to make your home life more difficult, and vice versa. If you have regular everyday stress and then try to keep up with your normal hectic schedule, it feels almost impossible to get through. This is why stress management is crucial during this time.
Right now, you might have some unhealthy habits you turn to when you get stressed. Maybe you order pizza or get ice cream a few too many nights in a row, you over-indulge in wine, or you turn to other habits. While these can feel like they’re helping, they are probably making you more stressed in the long run.
Think about some healthier ways to manage your stress, like taking more breaks, meditating, getting outside, and enjoying nature, improving your quality of sleep, talking to friends, and spending more time with activities that bring you joy.
16. Eliminate Distractions
If you have a busy schedule, but you are struggling to focus, the outside distractions are likely the problem. Start by looking at immediate distractions. Is there a lot of noise in your office or where you work at home? Do you have people constantly asking you for help? Is your phone going off every few minutes with notifications?
These are the places to start first when it comes to distractions. Close your office door, work during times of the day when it tends to be a little quieter, put your phone on silent and remove notifications, let co-workers know when you don’t want to be disturbed.
Beyond these obvious distractions, there might be others that you don’t notice as much but can still be a problem. This includes not eating enough and being distracted by your own low energy levels and grumbling stomach, working in a room with a lot of bright lights or colors that affect your concentration, or trying to multitask and do multiple things at once.
17. Delegate Low-Priority Tasks
The tasks you try to complete each day can be split up into two categories: high priority and low priority. The high priority tasks absolutely have to get done that day. They are necessary to fill a quota or meet a deadline. Then there are the lower priority tasks, where they help you with your job or what you are trying to accomplish, but don’t necessarily need to be done right away.
For these low priority tasks, consider which ones can be delegated to someone else. You might have a habit of taking on more work than necessary but have some smaller tasks that other people can handle just fine. Keep the higher priority tasks for yourself, and you will have more time to focus on them.
18. Use Weekends to Relax and Plan
We already discussed not just doing chores and cleaning all weekend, but let’s talk about some other ways to use any days off more effectively.
The first way is with more time to relax. Don’t try to fill your weekend schedule with constant personal obligations. You still need to relax in whatever form is best for you. If you like to rest at brunch with friends, by all means go enjoy yourself! But leave some room for just you at home getting proper rest as well.
Weekends are also great for doing some planning to make the upcoming work week a little easier. Not working necessarily but getting things together. Preparing to-do lists and intentions for the week, adjusting your schedule, figuring out your time blocks for each day, meal prepping and planning, anything that will make your next week just a bit easier.
19. Don’t Turn Down Help
If you like to do everything yourself and never accept help, you’re doing it wrong! No one person can do everything. Every single person knows when they need help, but don’t know how to ask for it. If someone is offering to take a little bit off your shoulders, take them up on it!
This might be your season for being extremely busy, but maybe next season things are easier for you and you can then help others by taking some of their extra work. Everything is cyclical, so don’t be ashamed to accept help when you need it.
20. Try to Fit in Micro Naps
Micro naps are a wonderful way to rest throughout the day, without taking too much time away from work and other obligations. They are usually no more than 5-10 minutes, sometimes 20 minutes if you have the time. You don’t have to actually fall asleep during that time but sitting back or laying down with your eyes closed is often enough to rest your mind and body, and help you focus when you get up and get back to work.
21. Use the Time Blocking Method
The time blocking method is where you have blocks of time of around 2-3 hours, where you work on just one type of task during that time. This helps you to get more done and also prevent multi-tasking. It is also a good way to find room in your day for breaks, self-care, your personal life, and possibly more work if your schedule is that busy.
For time blocking, you need to know what tasks need to be done during the day, and what hours you have available. For example, if you know on Mondays you have a meeting every morning from 8:30-9:30, then your work blocks might be before 8:30 or after 9:30. Work around your current schedule and choose tasks for these blocks of time.
It often helps you stay on task during the time limit, since you know you will soon be moving on to something else.
22. Be Realistic With Your To-Do List
When you make your to-do list, whether it is one you use every day, or a weekly or monthly list, try to be realistic. Ask yourself if you are so busy right now because all these tasks really need to be done, or you are overworking yourself for other reasons. Sometimes, we fill up our schedules with work to avoid other things, or simply don’t take into consideration how much we can get done in a day while also living a life.
As you make your to-do list, write down about how long each task would take to complete. Then you can split up your day and have a better idea of what you are able to get done. Some people also like to use smaller notepads or sticky notes for their to-do list. You can only write down what fits on that small sticky note, and other tasks have to be added to another day.
23. Focus on Your MITs First
MITs are most important tasks, your highest priority tasks that should be done first. These are the tasks that must be done, and preferably first. If you can make a habit of doing your MITs first and then seeing how much time you have left in your day, you will understand where there is room for self-care and other ways of destressing.
This is a great way to keep your sanity because you have a better handle on your schedule and commitments. Getting the hardest work done first thing in the morning takes so much weight off your shoulders for the rest of the day.
24. Plan at Least One Social Occasion Every Week
Even the busiest person in the world can’t just work and do nothing else. As you prepare your weekly schedule, plan for at least one social occasion. This can be going to a party, game night with your family, going to a movie on Friday nights with friends, or just heading to coffee in the morning one day a week with co-workers.
This is a great way to start working on your work-life balance in a simple and doable way, working around your busy schedule, but making this social time with friends a priority.
25. Turn Your Nighttime Routine Into Self-Care
If your biggest struggle with staying sane and having a busy schedule is not having time for yourself, then the nighttime routine is perfect. This is usually the most relaxing routine of the day. Your work day is done, you have put the kids to bed, and dinner is already done and cleaned up. You have a little more time for yourself, so this is when it is easiest to fit in some self-care.
Maybe you are used to just brushing your teeth and getting dressed for bed during this time but can spend 10-15 more minutes on some self-care. It is a really easy way to fit it in and not lose too much sleep.
