Are You Doing The Basic Things That Set You Up For Success?

Are you doing the basic things that set you up for success?

I recently shared how to navigate work and kids with more ease and presence. Ironically, a couple of days this week have felt NOTHING like ease!

We are coming off a four-day trip with the kids to Toronto for a Raptors game. It was a fun weekend getaway, action-packed, and went smooth for the most part. It was also late nights, early mornings, and a delayed flight home that got in after midnight.

And with Christmas break right around the corner, we decided to do school and work the same as usual Monday morning. But things have been anything but smooth since then and I have not been getting the small everyday moments right.

By “right”, I mean aligned with my values and how I want to show up in my life.

We were all grumpy, running behind and arguing about silly things. When a friend asked me Monday night at the school Christmas concert how our week was going, all I could say was “not good” – with my second thought being: It’s only Monday!

And while I am usually optimistic and calm, for a couple of days I was feeling pretty low.

But, when I zoom out and look at the big picture – we were trying to do too much in a short window, lacked sleep, and had zero alone time. It had also been a few weeks of sick kids and juggling that with work, grief bubbling up, and rest of life. Everything kind of came to a head. 

Today, I feel so much better – still tired, but more centered. 

So why am I sharing this?

We all need to remember our best will look different on different days. To give ourselves permission to have the off days. To slow down the pace and listen to what we need.

And remember that it's often the basic, little things you do for yourself that can set you up for success.

So, I am getting back to the basics. Catch up on sleep. Cut myself (and my kids) some slack. Take something off my plate. Have some quiet time to think. Let go of what I didn’t accomplish or get done – let it be enough. Enjoy the upcoming downtime and holidays. Reset for the year ahead. 

And give myself permission to mindlessly do nothing for a bit. How about you?

#balancedleaders

Wishing you a happy holiday season!

P.S. Life can often feel overstuffed and you don’t want your family or holidays to feel like just one more thing on the to-do list. So give yourself permission to slow down and enjoy a real break this holiday season -- doing less of what stresses you out and more of what gives you joy!

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.