Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
It seems every time I decide to put the hammer down and do awesome in terms of fitness, something comes up that detracts from my goal. This time around, it’s a living room full of teenager stuff and a house that looks like a tornado hit. How do I go about dealing with this chaos?
And it goes beyond just simply having my house in shambles. I’m also trying to balance the multiple things I have to do in a day.
There are times when I feel overwhelmed and ready to throw in the towel. But then I take a step back and re-evaluate everything that is going on and where it’s leading.
6 Methods for Dealing with the Chaos in My Life
I’m no expert in psychology or even fitness for that matter. But, I’ve learned quite a bit over the years and found ways to help me deal with the grind of day-to-day life, especially as someone who works from home.
It’s never been an easy road. And I’ve had to make a few of my own paths along the way. Still, I’m in control and able to adapt fairly well.
A lot has changed over the past five years.
Focus on What I Can Control
First, only worry about things you’re able to control. Otherwise, you’ll stress yourself out over things that you cannot change.
For instance, I would love to have millions of visitors per month on my blog. But, I can’t force anyone to click or visit. Instead, I focus on creating more content or answering questions of which people want answers.
My point is that worrying about something that is beyond your control will only lead to anger, anxiety, depression, and a myriad of other negative emotions. Then, you’ll start to spiral out of control and find yourself standing on the brink of burnout.
Take an Extra Long Walk in the Backyard
I find that walking gives me a chance to relax, increase endorphin circulation, and think about issues and how to resolve them. In fact, I’ve come up with some of my best ideas and solutions while on a walk.
Now that my living room is in shambles, I’ll probably do a lot more walking today. At least until the girls clean up the mess.
At any rate, walks work exceptionally well for me when dealing with life’s chaos. From my house being a disaster to trying to come up with a blog post, walking does help.
Take Each Day One at a Time
So, I know this is stolen from Alcoholics Anonymous. However, there is a great deal of logic from taking each day one at a time. There’s really no sense in worrying about what might happen. Instead, focus on how to make today better.
Most things that stress people out are temporary problems. This means they’ll eventually go away in time. All you can really do is try to make the situation better in the here-and-now.
This helps me adjust to chaos when it comes to dealing with the wide scope of content I have to create. I’ve found that dedicating specific sites to certain days helps me from feeling overwhelmed.
Another example is stressing over days when I overeat. I can’t do anything about yesterday’s calorie intake. But I can focus on making today a good day.
Spend Time Planning Out a Realistic Strategy
I’m all about planning. Mostly because of the sheer amount of projects I have going on. But, you don’t need to have as much as I do to understand the value of a good plan or schedule.
And when I say “realistic,” I mean a strategy that you’re capable of completing. It’s OK to set goals above and beyond your average potential. Otherwise, goals would be pointless. Nevertheless, you still need to keep them within reason.
Personally, I use the free app Asana to organize my day. Since using it, I’ve been able to keep a lot of things from getting out of hand.
Adjust My Tactics to Fit the Situation
Taking each day one at a time and having a strong strategy planned are only part of the equation. You also need to be able to adapt to fit specific situations. Because not everything is going to go according to plan throughout your day.
Not everyone can adapt in the same manner. It doesn’t mean you’re any weaker of a person. It just means you still need to find that part of you that can adapt easier.
Sometimes, the situations are beyond what you can handle, though. But, that’s OK. Keep going through the motions and learn all you can to prevent it from happening again.
Be OK with Setbacks
Perhaps one of the most important things I’ve learned over the years is to be OK when things don’t go your way. The more you stress about a situation, the worse the problem can get.
Instead, take a step back and learn from what caused the setback to begin with. Then, come up with a new strategy that will propel you forward.
I used to get incredibly mad at myself for some of the smallest things. For example, if I slept in past 10:00 am, I would be furious with myself because I feel like I wasted the day. Nowadays, I realize that if I slept that long, there was a reason.
My body needed the rest.
I’ll also give myself permission to skip morning alarms if I know I’m not going to get enough sleep. Didn’t get enough of a workout yesterday? Well, let’s just make sure we get enough today.
The point is to not dwell when chaos sweeps through the house while you’re dealing with various issues. Adjust your mindset and move on.
How Often Am I Dealing with All This Chaos, Really?
For the most part, the only chaos I have to deal with every week is that which I place on myself. Five blogs, four YouTube channels, a Twitch stream, two novels, and two podcasts are quite a bit for one person to handle throughout the week.
All of this is on top of working to lose the last of my weight and tone up for the photoshoot in October. It’s quite a bit to handle on most days.
However, I’m still confident that I can work out all the kinks and maintain each one.
And what about my health and fitness? Well, it’s true that I can’t reach my exercise equipment at the moment because the girls have their bedroom emptied in my living room (they’re painting beds at the moment). But, I can still do other things.
I can roll my exercise ball into the bedroom and work out. Or, I can go on several walks today, which I plan on doing anyway. I can easily keep going with one of my case studies to see how many calories I can burn per minute cleaning the house.
Dealing with chaos really comes down to your perception of what is “chaotic.” If you can keep yourself calm and focused, it’s really not that hard to adapt and change to meet the circumstance.
The hardest part for many is keeping a cool head. And this is coming from someone who had a vicious temper in his youth.
Dealing with Chaos Isn’t All That Difficult
For the most part, it’s all in your mentality for facing issues. Everyone has a different threshold for stress. But you need to know just where that line is for yourself. Then, you can start working on how to manage it.
I still have my moments of dwelling on negative thoughts. But today, I’m getting much better at identifying those issues and adjusting my day and attitude to compensate.
It’s not going to happen overnight. So, don’t plan on having an instant fix for dealing with the chaos in your life. Yet, taking the first few steps, even if it’s just a quick walk around the block, will make a massive difference.
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