5 Daily Sanity Saving Tips To Help You Escape Survival Mode

What do you do to slow down when life is too chaotic, too stressful, too crazy, too fast?  How do you get back your sanity when you are feeling like you don’t know what to do next and you go into survival mode simply because you are so stressed out and about ready to panic?  Don’t you wish that you’d been taught sanity saving tips to help you escape those roller coaster of emotions, to-do lists, an overflowing calendar and Mount Laundry when you were in school to help you deal with life?

When life seems to be crashing down, some people have a good cry, some thrive, and some try to retreat back to their safe place.  It is a vicious cycle until you’ve had enough and decide that changes must be made.  At this point you declare that you’ve had enough and dig in to embrace a slower, happier pace of life.

I’ve been there.  More than once. Hopefully for the last time.

I remember in college and in my early 20’s when I would pridefully boast that I “thrive under pressure” and do my best work under the gun.  To be perfectly honest, a lot of the time that was true but it didn’t make it a healthy lifestyle.  I may have my work done, but that didn’t mean my apartment was clean, or that I was eating healthy food, or exercising.  The more deadlines I had and met, the more prideful that mind game became embedded in my being and less healthy I because physically.

Somewhere in my early 30’s it hit me. I really wasn’t doing my best work when I had put off the things that needed done and let them simmer until I was in full crazy mode.  This caused my family way too much stress and was damaging to my health and well-being.

I’m still not perfect at embracing slow (and I never will be) but I have implemented a few changes that have helped. If you are feeling overwhelmed and wanting to embrace a slower, more peaceful life here 5 daily sanity saving tips to help you escape survival mode and get you back on track:

• Use your calendar.  This is pretty obvious but when I’m in survival mode I tend to forget everything because I’m stressed out! I’m also a visual person and when I can see what I need to do it helps motivate me to not only do it but I get great satisfaction out of checking it off! By taking 15 minutes and planning each day it really helps save my sanity.  I don’t have as many surprises with the kids’ school projects when the deadlines are written down and that helps at my house with a cranky mom and cranky kids! Write down those physical therapy appointments, kid activities, and deadlines.
• Have a plan for tomorrow night’s dinner today! I know…when I’m in survival mode I’m trying to not pick up dinner by getting take out to deal with dinner today!  However if I can plan for tomorrow’s dinner now, I won’t be in that situation tomorrow!  You will have to trust me on this one, it really does help even if you hate meal planning!  One day at a time is all you need to have a little more breathing room!  (If you’d like help with meal planning click here!)
• Throw a load of laundry in each morning.  Even if this is all you get done, it saves on your laundry piling up for the weekend and most likely everyone can have something that is clean to wear the next day.
• Clean off your kitchen table each night.  This is for your peace of mind!  I don’t know about you, but when I get up in the morning and there is still last night’s dishes on the table I’m already dreading cleaning for the day before it even starts!  (For bonus points do your island and countertops as well your sanity will thank you!) Even if this is not something you care to do or are good at, this is a job kids can help with!  Any child old enough to scrape a plate can help!  Play a game and see how fast everyone can pitch in to get the table clean.
• Wash your dishes after dinner. This goes right along with the laundry tip.  One load a day helps keep everyone running tomorrow.  My kids are in charge of unloading the dishwasher each morning so if I can get it loaded, I won’t have to unload it the next day!

These are my daily sanity saving tips to help you escape survival mode. What would you add to the list?