76. Tips for Navigating Stressful Seasons as a Busy SLP

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In today’s episode, I’m sharing practical tips and strategies designed to help you navigate the busy holiday season with as little stress as possible. Discover how to effectively manage your to-do list with brain dumps, categorize tasks using the Time Buckets System, and get clear on what truly matters. This time of year can be stressful, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself and this episode will show you how.

Mentioned in This Episode:
Episode 18: Use My Time Buckets System to Manage Your Time
Episode 14: Three Innovative Ways to Schedule Your Time as a Busy SLP

To find out how I can help you improve your work-life balance, click here.

Come join the SLP Support Group on Facebook for more tips and tricks!

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Learn more about Theresa Harp Coaching here.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hello, podcast listeners and SLP Support Group. Welcome to the podcast. This is episode 76, where I'm going to be talking about tips and strategies to support you, particularly through this holiday season, because at the time that this episode is being released, it is going to be the month of December, but also This information is really helpful for, I would offer, any busy season that you might find yourself in.

So, if you happen to stumble upon this episode and it's not necessarily the holiday season when you find it, there's still information in here that's going to be helpful for any time when things are more hectic, more overwhelming than normal. Okay, so. I want to just offer that for those of you who might be listening at a different time than when [00:01:00] this episode goes live, okay?

And another thing that I also want to say is as you're listening to this episode, I'm going to reference the holidays and I want to recognize that not everybody celebrates these, you know, particular holidays. Everyone has different beliefs, customs, traditions, celebrations, holidays, all of that. And I want to acknowledge that, and just encourage you to listen to what serves you, okay?

I'm gonna share some pretty specific approaches that I, that I use personally because that's what's worked well for me, but I also realize that not everyone's brain and works the same way, not everyone's learning style is the same, and trust me when I say that I know this. This is something that we work on in coaching with my coaching clients all the time is basically taking [00:02:00] tips and ideas and processes and strategies and personalizing them, customizing them, individualizing them so that they work for each unique person.

So as you're listening to this, consider what might work well for you. And also feel free to leave what doesn't or modify whatever you hear so that you can find something that's going to really support you. Okay. All right. So now that we got that out of the way, a couple of things, I'm going to walk you through what I do during this crazy time of year.

Okay. And if you know me, if you've been listening to this podcast for a while, this should not surprise you, but the very first thing that I do and what I recommend you do is to grab a piece of paper and do a brain dump. Basically, stream of consciousness, you're just writing anything that pops into your mind.

Now, there's a couple of different [00:03:00] ways, there's lots of different ways that you can do this, but I want to share some, I think some approaches or some details that maybe you haven't thought about that might help optimize this approach for you. Okay, so one way that you can approach this brain dump is By purely anything that pops into your mind, like any thought that you have, you write it down, whether it is something that's on your to do list, whether it's a worry, whether it's a memory, whether it's a random thought that you can't even make sense of, like whatever it is that pops in your head, write it down, don't worry about it, don't filter, then we'll go back and look and see what you want What you want to pull from that list.

Okay. That's one way you can do it. And there are certain for me, there are certain times when I would do it, when I'll do a brain dump that way, usually that is helpful for me in particular, when I'm stressed or anxious or overwhelmed about [00:04:00] something. I'm worried about something and I need some help processing that and really making sense of what's going on.

But I just wanted to share that in case that's helpful for you, right? The way that I typically do a brain dump and another way that you can approach this is by essentially taking that mental to do list and putting it out on paper. Okay? And I like to use pen and paper. I find that to be more effective, more engaging, and more memorable for me.

I know people can do this and choose to do this on the computer or in your phone. You do you. Do whatever works for you. Okay? So, when you are making this brain dump and you're sharing those things that are on your mind, what I would suggest you do as best you can is include the, if it's a to do list item, include the due date [00:05:00] or the deadline, if there is one, for each of those tasks, okay?

And You may not know all of the due dates for all of the things that you're putting down. That's okay. There may not be deadlines for some of the things that you're writing down. That's okay, too. But you know what I'm talking about. If there are, let's say, uh, reports and projects that you need to get done for work before you leave for the winter break, then Those would be important dates to have on your list, and if you don't know them offhand, don't interrupt your brain dump to get them.

Just finish the brain dump and then go back, and you can add in those dates afterwards, okay? So, not just, again, not just brain dumping a to do list, but also including those dates and deadlines at some point so that you have that information there. Now I'm going to take this even one step [00:06:00] further. Okay.

What I like to do and what I encourage my clients to do some version of this is the, is my time buckets system. And I highly recommend you consider using this system as well. When you are making your Brain dump when you're listing all of that stuff. So if you aren't familiar with what I'm talking about, definitely go check out episode 18 of the podcast.

There's also another episode, episode 14 talks a little bit about the Brain, I'm sorry, the time buckets system as well. So if you're curious what I'm talking about, you want to learn more, go listen to episodes 18 and or 14, and you can get all the details that you'll need. But for the purposes of this episode, you don't necessarily have to do that.

Basically, what you need to know in terms, when I say time buckets is categorizing. In [00:07:00] whatever way your brain groups these things, the items on your to do list. So, this is helpful for me, and it's helpful, I know, for a lot of neurodivergent people who really have, like, this, just, list of information and struggle to make sense of it all and, and sort of juggle it, even when it's out on paper, because it's just, A mishmash of things.

This is also helpful for those of you who might try to sit down and do a brain dump of your to do list and you come up blank. Even though you know that you've got a million things that are floating through your mind. I had one client where she said this would happen to her all the time. She'd always have those you know, mental to do lists and those tasks running through her brain, just popping up at like the most annoying, intrusive times.

But when it came time to actually sit down and write these things, she would draw a blank. So if that's you, think about your categories of time or your categories of, [00:08:00] uh, tasks and group them that way. I'll give you some examples. For me, my Year round, my time buckets are family, house, work, personal. Those are my four core time buckets.

And so when I think about the tasks and the activities and responsibilities that I have, they generally fit into one of those four categories. It's either related to my family, you know, helping my kids. Doing things for my kids with my kids. It's related to running the household chores, daily tasks. It's related to work.

So coaching clients or podcast staff or teaching tasks for the grad students and undergrad students who I teach. Or it's related to personal, and I really encourage you to include that personal bucket because this is the thing that we all neglect. This is the thing that we all forget. We drop, we just sort of brush to the [00:09:00] wayside when things are hectic, and then we wonder why we're struggling and overwhelmed and incredibly stressed out and hanging on by a thread.

It's because we haven't done anything for ourselves, because we think that that can just get moved down the list, right? So I really encourage you to keep that personal bucket. on your list. Okay? So those are my four categories year round. What I add during a busy season like this, particularly in this case, the holiday season, I add a bucket for gifts and I add a bucket for events.

And within the events bucket, I include the, the dates of those things and the requirements. So I'll give you an example. My kids have a Christmas concert at school that's coming up and I will write down then. In my brain dump, in my events bucket, I'll write down the date of that concert, the time of that concert, and what I need to have [00:10:00] for that concert.

Because usually there's some sort of outfit that they need, color, or I don't know, theme that they need, or there's song lyrics that they need help with remembering, memorizing, like all that kind of stuff, right? So I'll write that down as well. Okay, so those are the six buckets that I use during the holiday season.

You choose what works well for you, but again, the buckets that I use are, let's see, family, house, work, personal, gifts, events. And then what I am going to have you do next is going to help you with figuring out what things are. Most important to you. What are the things that matter the most during this point of time?

Okay, because think about it during the holiday season, right? Think [00:11:00] about all the things that people hype up, right? That what they say? Hype up the, just all of the hype and hustle and bustle about these things related to the holidays. So, for example, Christmas lights, if you celebrate Christmas, or indoor, outdoor decorations, indoor decorations, holiday photos, uh, sending out holiday cards, gift giving, getting the perfect gift for everyone.

But what? What budget do we have? And how much am I spending? And who needs what? And who wants what? And volunteering, right? This is a big time of year for giving back to those in need. So, volunteering your time, volunteering your money, right? That comes up a lot. Thinking about parties, holiday parties in school for kids, holiday parties outside of school with friends or family, hosting, uh, you know, Those are just things that I can rattle off off the top of my [00:12:00] head that take time and energy, and it is so easy to get stuck in that comparison trap when we are surrounded by everyone's highlight reels of how wonderful the season is and what they're spending their time and money on and how their, their, you know, decorations look and the gifts that they're giving.

Our rap beautifully and all of that, and I'm not criticizing that or judging that by by any means. If that is what brings you joy, then absolutely do that and celebrate that and share that. But I also want to offer that for some of you who are listening, those might not be the most important things to you.

Those might not be the most important things, the highest priorities for you during this season. But we forget that and when we see others. And their highlight reels showcasing all of those things, we start to [00:13:00] feel inadequate. We start to feel vulnerable. We might feel disappointment. We might feel like we're missing out or we're doing something wrong or we're falling short, right?

And so it's, it becomes sort of this like, We're on this hamster wheel of thinking that we have to do everything, as, all the things as best we can, and da da da da da da da da, right? And then, we don't enjoy it. We're exhausted, and we're overwhelmed. So, what I have learned, something that I do, that I have learned that has helped me, and I want to preface this by saying, I am by no means, I'm, I'm not immune to any of the comparison traps, any of that, what I just sha shared with you, I mean, Obviously, how could I, how else could I share all of that without having, personally, felt that way from time to time.

So this is stuff that I do still, it comes up for me, but the difference now is that I know how to manage it, okay? And what I want to offer to [00:14:00] you is this might be helpful for you in managing some of that comparison, stress, overwhelm. Etc. Okay, this is what I do. I, I sit down and I list what is most important to me this season.

And this can apply during the holiday season. Yes, as I'm recording this episode, but this can apply again during any busy season season or just in general, what are the things that are most Now, I can answer that question with more specificity during the holiday season. And the way that I do this, or one way that you could do this, is by looking at that brain dump and seeing what's on that list and asking yourself, which things on this list do you enjoy the most?

Which things do you look forward to? [00:15:00] Which things are the most important? Which things would you be the most upset or disappointed about if they didn't happen or they didn't go a certain way? What matters most to you? Because let's face it, we know that this is a demanding time of year in terms of our time and in terms of our energy.

And Also, spoiler alert, energy and time are not infinite, they are finite factors, they are finite, you only have so much time, you only have so much energy, and if you are busy trying to meet all of those unrealistic expectations and do all the things that are on your list, mental list and or written brain dump list, right?

You're going to run out of time. You're going to run out of energy. Okay? So, spend your time and energy [00:16:00] wisely. Choose to spend your time and energy on the things that matter most to you. Okay? And if this means that you have to circle and write down the things that you see on your list and you highlight those so that it's very clear in paper, on paper, what is most important, then great.

Now you have it in writing. It's not just in your head. It's in writing. You have it. You can refer back to it. You can use that to direct your brain. When you start to, when your brain starts to go off on a tangent, down a rabbit hole, telling you that you're not enough or you're not doing a good enough job and blah, blah, blah, blah, right?

So use this to your advantage. And I'm going to offer one additional piece of this, just because I think it's easy to, it's easy to stay in a place of Like surface level or superficial, [00:17:00] when you are simply looking at a to do list and identifying priorities, you, you run the risk of sort of just choosing the things that are most the tasks that are most important, but missing the deeper meaning.

The deeper meaning being, what is it about those tasks? What is it about those events mean so much to you, right? I'll give you an example. One of the things on our, on our, on my braindump list is cookie decorating. So this is something that I do with my kids every year. We do it with extended family, grandparents, aunts, right?

We all get together and we're decorating cookies. And it's something that I look forward to every year. And that is something that Is high on that list of priorities, but it's not necessarily about the cookies, right? It's not. It's not about the holiday cookies. [00:18:00] It's about what the cookies represent, what that event means, what it brings, what it does.

So when I think about why, why do I look forward to that? Why am I going to make sure that we Block off the time to do that versus say, I don't know, go visit Santa. Honestly, I mean, we celebrate Christmas and I don't really take my kids to go see Santa. Um, because to me, I see the joy that they have as they are decorating their cookies.

They love it. They look forward to it every year. Just that joy and excitement as we're there together. We're around, uh, I was about to say family, friends and family. We're around. Family primarily and some friends and it's a creative outlet to it's just a nice way to sort of, you know, get energy, get that sort of like creative energy out and and enjoy.

that process [00:19:00] together with my kids. So for me, that is the priority. It is okay, doing the things that we can enjoy together, right? Because I enjoy it too. And trust me when I say there are things during the holiday season that my kids enjoy that I do not enjoy. And it doesn't mean that We don't do them.

It doesn't mean that it doesn't mean that. Oh, I'm not going to do it because it doesn't bring me joy. It also doesn't mean that I have to do it because it brings them joy. I get to decide what are the things that we're going to invest our time and energy and money in many cases during this season and why.

Okay. So by walking yourself through this exercise, it's going to give you more clarity and it's going to give you more. More agency, more autonomy, more control over what can often feel like a very overwhelming time of year where there is very little control. Okay? Don't, don't [00:20:00] subscribe to that. Don't get caught up in that.

When your brain starts going there, stop. Reign it in. Okay? Reign it in. So, that is, in a nutshell, an overview of one way that you can help manage a crazy, seemingly never ending to do list during the holiday season and find ways to enjoy it. Without burning out, running yourself ragged, and being left at the end of the season looking back and thinking, Ugh, what did we even do?

This was a waste. I didn't even get to enjoy it. Okay? So to recap for you, You're going to, number one, brain dump what's on your list. your mental to do list, your thoughts or worries or fears or anxieties that might be coming up for you, one or the other or both, you get to decide. When you have that list, you're going to [00:21:00] categorize those things in whatever way makes sense to you.

I gave you some suggestions of how you can do this. I shared with you how I do this. You get to decide what makes sense for you and your brain. And then you're going to make sure that you've got Deadlines and responsibilities or added sort of obligations, purchases, for example, that you need for certain things on that list.

Okay, don't just hold it all in your head, get it out there on the paper, and then you're going to look at that list and get very clear on what matters most and the way that you can do this. Lots of ways, but the way that we talked about today is by looking at that list and identifying the things that mean the most to you and asking yourself why.

What is it about those events, those experiences, that matter most? And how can you focus on that? this holiday season. All right. That's it for today's [00:22:00] episode. If you're watching this in the SLP support group, um, please comment, hashtag replay. Let me know what you think. I'd also love to know what matters most to you during this holiday season.

And for those of you that are listening to this episode on the podcast, if you're not in the SLP support group, click the link in the show notes so that you can join and see. these trainings, see these episodes, not just listen to them. And then you'll also have that added bonus of access to a community of like minded SLPs, PTs, OTs, who are working hard to prioritize themselves and their careers in the process.

All right, that's it. I'll see y'all soon.