Doing Less & Ruthless Prioritizing — Boundaries Minisode (3/4)

For more tips and inspiration, go to my website majo.co and follow me on Instagram @majo.heroine This is the third minisode in a four part series on boundaries. Make sure to listen to the entire series, so that you can have those healthy boundaries that allow you to thrive as a modern woman, when there are so many demands on your time and energy. In this episode, I’m going to give you a process for clearing crap off your plate. We all have very full plates, don’t we? We pile it on there, because we’re ambitious, smart, modern women. In hundreds of women, I’ve seen us dry ourselves up and burn ourselves out and feel so overwhelmed and anxious because our plates are simply too full. It’s an epidemic that needs to stop. Here’s what you can do. Write a list of your commitments or things you said “yes” to but that you aren’t excited about or really meant to say no to. These also might be thought of the logistics and operations of life, that take away and claw at your energy from doing deeper, more meaningful work. These are things that may feel more like “shoulds” or obligations. Go ahead and pause this minisode if you need to, and grab a piece of paper, and then come back. Here’s an example list you might write: Host dinner for the family next Saturday Go to Cape Cod in July Write out the brief for Jackson Grocery shopping Create four columns, and write the following empowering VERBS at the top: ELIMINATE, DELEGATE, AUTOMATE, ASK FOR HELP. Your next step is to slot your different tasks into each column. The idea is to get all those annoying “should” activities of your plate and into one of these buckets. It’s amazing what eliminating can do – oftentimes, we think we have to do something, but do we really have to? Time and time again, I’ve seen that the real issue is that we’re afraid to say no and back out...make sure to circle back to the first minisode about how to no. Let’s define these for a second. Eliminate is obvious – take it off your list, and it ceases to exist. Delegate is when you request that somebody else do the task, instead of you. That’s pretty clear. Asking for help is different from delegating in that you’re still doing the task, but you’re doing it with someone, or having someone take a part of it off your plate. But what about automate? Automate is when you build a system that makes the behavior easier to do on a repeating basis. So, let’s take grocery shopping, a way to automate that, and cut down on your time doing it, is to use a tool like Instacart, in which you have a set repertoire of groceries that you get weekly, or signing up for one of those farm-fresh CSAs that deliver to your door. The point is, you’re not spending loads of time thinking about and doing it every week. Capeeshela? That’s it, if you care about living an empowered life as a woman on this planet, follow me on Instagram @majo.heroine more juiciness – and go to my website majo.co and get on my email list for more updates about my work and this podcast. You got options. Make sure to be in touch. Lots of love, onward!