There are times of year when your schedule goes crazy.

When:

• your calendar is crowded with the events,
• your phone never stops ringing, and
• you can’t seem to catch your breath.

You may be in the midst of one of those times right now. 

Today, however, I’d like to zig when you thought I’d zag: instead of offering more advice about managing interactions with clients, I’m going to give you a few recommendations for staying sane when work is crazypants busy.

1. Put your focus on focus.

Don’t run around like a chicken with your head cut off. Try to focus your efforts by adopting a “block schedule”. You can find details on how to create yours here. 

• Book recommendation: I Know How She Does It by Laura Vanderkam

2. Don’t let email run your day. 

Email is the ultimate time suck. Be disciplined about how often you look at email. Schedule yourself to check email only once every 3 hours and remove the angry red notification button that tells you how many unread messages you have. Trust me, this one is a game changer.

• Book recommendation: Never Check Email in the Morning by Julie Morgenstern

3. Set boundaries.

Learn the power of NO: NO to attending every meeting, NO to answering every single phone call the minute it comes in, NO to accepting every assignment. Instead, spend your time where you can be most valuable. Sure, you might ruffle some feathers at first, but your performance will improve and that’s good for every person on your team. 

• Book recommendation: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

4. Take time each week to do “deep work”.

Dedicate a half-day day (or even a day) each week to get “in the flow” of deeper work. Opt out of meetings or site visits during this time and treat it as sacred space on your calendar. 

• Book recommendation: Deep Work by Cal Newport

5. Double-down on good habits. 

It’s easy to let positive practices go when things get really busy. But beware—that’s a quick way to burn yourself out. Be sure to take breaks, move your body, and get a full night’s sleep. It’s more important now than ever.

• Book recommendation: Thrive by Arianna Huffington

What I truly want is for you to feel really good about your work during busy times of year, and I hope the suggestions above will help get you there!

TO DO FOR YOU:

Choose one of the tips above that you think you most need to implement and find just one way to do it.

You’ll feel better, promise!