Dealing with the future.

So maybe the crisis isn't today. Maybe you're worried about what you have to get done this week or this month. A lot can be going on in a week and month, things can change, and it can seem like important things can creep up on us. That can lead to a persistent, long term feeling of stress. That's not good for anybody.

So, here are a few suggestions for handling that great nebulous cluster of obligations that we call the future. This list isn't exhaustive, but it should help get you started.

Use a calender.

If you haven't already, take advantage of a calender from now on. It's one of the best things you can do to help yourself prioritize and to keep things in perspective. It can be a bit of a slog to write everything down, but it's worth it. Write the most important things for the month first if you feel like you have no time to write down everything, and then just write out the important tasks for the week every Sunday or Monday.

I tend to use my phone for my calender, since I can refer to it at any time during the day. The most important thing is that you will be able to easily find the calender and you will be able to check it often.

Break tasks down into chunks.

When you have a sense of what needs to be done first and when, you can break down those tasks into pieces. This is a great way of keeping something from becoming overwhelming; instead of being faced with the entire task, you can instead tackle it piece by piece. It may feel tedious to work on the same task for the entire length of time, but a little tedium every day will breakdown whatever eventual panic you would have had. Of course, this approach does not work with every task (you can't exactly break down a dentist appointment into pieces), but it is effective for making something like "clean the entire house" less of an ordeal.

Remember that you still have time.

Don't try to get a weeks worth of stuff done in a day. Once you've got your tasks planned out, you can afford to give yourself a cut-off point and rest for the day. This isn't a license to procrastinate, you will still need to take care of those tasks eventually; however, it's not a race either.

The best laid plans...

As I said at the start, life doesn't always function how we want it to. Things will happen, plans will change, and sometimes that means you have to do more on a day than you initially thought. There is, unfortunately, no magic method that will solve all of the chaos in your life forever. There are good habits. If you practice prioritization, schedule yourself, and generally learn to keep perspective with all that you have to do, then the chaos will be easier to manage in the long run.