I didn’t sleep well all weekend which has meant I got to Monday and I’m already tired.

I was standing in the shower just feeling exhausted and sure I hadn’t slept well and I had just done a work out, but it wasn’t anything crazy, so I checked in with myself.

It’s so important that we just take a few seconds or minutes every now and then to listen to our own bodies.

Doing this helped me realise I was feeling stressed.

I had many looming due dates this week on my mind which meant I wasn’t sleeping well and in turn, made me really tired.

How often do you feel stressed and overwhelmed because of a looming due date?

For many executives and business owners it’s pretty regular.

Now my clients will tell you that I teach them a whole lot of techniques to free their time up so you can focus on achieving the things that are important to you.

However, sometimes, even freeing up time will not mean you can hit that deadline.

So this is where people start to get uncomfortable with what I ask them to do.

I hear things like: “I can’t possibly do that”, “there’s no way that can be done”.

But then they push through that fear and uncertainty and they do it. Afterwards they have this immense feeling of freedom and control when they realise they can make choices about their time and it’s okay to do things that look after you.

So I ask them to do one of or both of the following:

Move the due date

I hear you saying “oh no that’s not possible people are expecting it at that time”

Sure, but if you tell them really nicely that you need an extra day or so, most people are pretty understanding and you still get to do an amazing job without killing yourself in the process.

and/or

Do less

For example were you planning on adding in some extra stuff to show off your exceptional abilities? Would only you know if you didn’t add that in?

What if you negotiated splitting it into two deliverables or a draft and final?

Or agree to include less.

People remember if you did a crap job or you somehow messed up their world long term but they don’t remember if the date moved.

In my corporate days I would argue this point all the time.

People were so hell bent on meeting a deadline even if it destroyed people in the process.

And time and time again I’d see organisations ‘go live’ on a project that wasn’t ready and spend millions in the clean up.

Trust me, moving the date is cheaper.

So what did I do?

I chose to move one of my dates.

It’s wasn’t a small decision,

I didn’t take it lightly and it wasn’t a small project.

I had promised to open up my March intake of my Organise Yourself Out of Overwhelm Bootcamp on Tuesday.

So I just made a decision for me and my family to move it to Thursday.

I did this because I wasn’t willing to compromise my boundaries and one of those is not working evenings.

I deliberately give myself rest and down time and as importantly, family time.

I also chose not to work on the weekend because I’ve listened to my body and it has told me it needs two days of down time each week, depending on what’s been happening sometimes more.

My work is mentally intensive, it’s tiring, so I need to give my body the nourishment it needs so I can keep performing at my peak.

So of course I apologise to those expecting to see the doors open on Tuesday. I’m sorry. But in the long run it’s best for all of us.

So what should you being considering shuffling to give yourself a little stress relief?

Think outside the square, I challenge you.

Wishing you all the joy

Louise x

P.S. If you’d like to know more about the Organise Yourself Out of Overwhelm Bootcamp and chat about whether it’s the right thing for you book in for a complimentary consult to see if it’s the right fit for what’s going on for you right now.

P.P.S. Take action now and consider, what could give you some relief by shuffling a few things around? Life is too short for stressing over due dates. Choose joy!