Happy Monday… or not.

It’s Monday morning, you come into your office or your workspace and your to-do list hits you right between the eyes.

Suddenly, the 50,000 things you have to do just look like a big blur. And they feel like a tangled ball of barbed wire and sticks inside of you. Then – you remember the 10,000 things you didn’t get to last week.

Why not just get on Facebook or Twitter until this awful feeling goes away… but then, if you do that, you know you’ll stress over the amount of unproductive time you’re spending doing mindless things.

The ultra-relaxed way to start your week:

No doubt you’ve got a ton to do. There are a million ways to be distracted and to lose yourself in overwhelm. What if you could come into your office and feel completely in control, relaxed, and know that you’re going to have a great, productive day.

You can.

1. Decide that that is exactly what’s going to happen. You’ll be most successful at anything if you mindfully, intentionally decide how you want things to be, and then take steps to create your life like that.

Right now, say aloud: I will decide what I want my day to look like, and I’ll create it exactly like that.

Even if that feels untrue for you – why not repeat it a couple of times and see if the feeling changes for you. Why does it feel untrue? Is there somewhere in your body that pings when you say that? If so, where? Ask what it wants you to know.

2. Take a few deep breaths and calm your mind chatter.

I know I’m asking you to slow down right now when really, what you may want to do is ignore this and barrel ahead into your day. But, where is that going to get you? Stressed and seeking mindless activities like we talked about above. Stay with me for just a few more minutes :)

Keep those deep calming breaths going until you can focus easily on your breath, or your center, or your heart.

3. Now, from this place – this calmer, less stressed place, look at your to-do list. What task feels best to do right now? Are there any tasks on there that can be let go? Anything on there that you just never get to? Why not let those things go for now?

Create your day from this peaceful, intentional, deliberate space. Let go of tasks that don’t serve you (the ones you keep moving from week to week that never even get started). Let go of projects that don’t serve you.

Only keep the things that feel good in your soul.

And remember – overwhelm is self-induced. If you’re feeling overwhelmed when it comes to your to-do list, chances are good there’s a whole lot on there that shouldn’t be.

Have a wonderful week!