Today we are going to dive into how to get back on track from major life changes. The times when you are overwhelmed because you feel like you’re free-falling, waiting to hit rock bottom so that you can begin to climb back up the ladder. If you feel like nothing is quite right and you are swimming hard just to stay afloat, this one is for you, friend. Grab your favorite drink, a pen, some paper, and let’s go.

Listen below for the entire episode on The Systemize Your Life Podcast

Whatever Season You Are In

It is really common for me to talk with a variety of women in different seasons of life, either through email or via the Systemize Your Life Facebook group. Frequently, I find myself in the position of really leaning in to other people’s season of life. Where they’re at right now in their motherhood journey, whether or not they are juggling business, or if they are handling some heavy things at home.

I really do feel like right now that is one of my biggest callings. One of my biggest skill sets is to sit and listen and to be able to say hey, here’s a couple things that you could do that might be helpful.

That is what inspired this episode. Over the last several weeks, I’ve been receiving text messages from friends, emails in the inbox, and DM’s on Instagram about having a wrench thrown into the plans that were made. These people feel like they can’t run the race. They can’t make any headway because they had a baby, had family move in unexpectedly, became ill, or got laid off.

In any situation, there is an opportunity to grow. Maybe you cannot actively grow, but just imagine yourself as a plant underneath the soil invisibly growing. Productive growth is occurring even in those winter seasons of rest.

What I Have Done to Get Back On Track

What I have gotten super great at is creating systems. I will set up a system and it will work really well. And then something changes. So then I tweak it. I replace the malfunctioning piece with something else to get back on track. I want you to learn that, too, because it is the name of the game.

Being a system creator and repairer is the key to creating efficiency and becoming really effective with your time, with how you manage your home, how you manage your business. It is how you can always count on growth.

Now I’m gonna get into the three steps to help you get back on track even in those times where you’re not entirely certain what you’re even supposed to be doing.

STEP 1 – REASSESS EVERYTHING

The first step you need to take when things are not going according to plan is reassess everything in your life. You’re going to dig in deep and drop the way that you’ve been doing everything. You are going to stop doing things the way that you’ve always been doing them and the way that you think you’re supposed to be doing them and the way that you want to be doing them. Just stop doing all of that.

Reassess and get out of your own way. Likely, right now, YOU are what’s holding you back from growth in this time. Even with those uncertain circumstances. When you force something to happen that isn’t supposed to happen, you inflict unnecessary detriment.

Not only yourself, but also to the people that are counting on you in your everyday life. Those people need you to step away from this force of nature that you’re trying to impose on their lives and on yours.

“To me, it’s better to succeed at what you can do than to fail in all the things that you can’t do in this season. Allow yourself to slip into the headspace of doing only the bare minimum for a bit, but doing it SO well. By slowing down, you are speeding up in the long run.”

Make Peace with Where You Are

Accept what’s happening and where you are in this season of life. Maybe you weren’t prepared for it financially. Or with organization of your home. Or with the systems that you have in your business or in your house, but that’s okay. That’s how we learn.

Sometimes we get thrown into things and we’re not prepared. It is a hard lesson in preparedness, if I do say so myself. And as you know better, you can do better. So you’re gonna sit down and reassess everything.

Look at all parts of your life. What is working? What is not working? Look at your schedule: how you cook dinner, how you put your kids to bed, etc. Don’t get worked up here. This is only data. We are just taking in data, this is not a measure of your success as a person or mother. To get back on track, we will pivot from here into step number two.

STEP 2 – ESTABLISH YOUR BARE MINIMUM

To get back on track, realize you are in a season of change. When in a season of change, you are not able to run at max capacity. Because of this, you need to establish the bare minimum of what needs to happen, also known as your fundamental needs.

It can be difficult to know what all your fundamental needs are if you’re just pulling them out of the top of your head. However, I have a FREE fundamental needs workbook that you can download to streamline the process. I have had tremendous success using the workbook and so have many other women that have used it.

Let. It. Go.

After you establish what you absolutely need to do, let the rest go. Ouch, I know. I realize one of the hardest things for people to do––me included––is to let go of enforcing max capacity. Which is what I mentioned during the first step.