#350 Simplify

Life is much simpler in Flow Chart format... illustration from the brilliant XKCD

When life is very complicated I tend to become quite stressed. When I become stressed, my pain usually gets worse. A good way for me to prevent this from spiraling, is to sit down and start pruning away non-necessities.


These days I've been pretty strung out, with the book launch, new blog project and big move all at the same time, healthier people than I would have trouble. I'm hanging in there, sort of... but the problem is, I'm spending energy I need in order to make it through the winter. So I need to cut back and prioritize quite harshly in order to take care of myself.

When I'm really tired, even the simplest tasks seem completely impossible and my mind is muddled with endless lists... If I catch myself falling into that "I have to do EVERYTHING and I have to do it NOW!" frenzy, I sit down and make a mind map with all the things worrying me. When I get them down on paper, they're usually not as many or as urgent as I think. So I check which of them I really need to do something about, and which of them I really need to do something about today. At that point I'm usually left with only one or two things, and it's all quite manageable...