{"id":4587,"date":"2019-12-08T03:21:55","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T01:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/?p=4587"},"modified":"2021-10-17T18:37:19","modified_gmt":"2021-10-17T16:37:19","slug":"achieving-calm-through-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/achieving-calm-through-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"Achieving Calm through all the Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I just gotten used to writing 2019 <\/a>and, in a flash, it already flew by, taking with it milestones and achievements, forgotten plans and stolen moments with my family. Life is faster, we work harder, have more plans, higher goals, yet we are busier than ever before. I grasp at the meaning of calmness through the chaos that my present day translates to. My heart knows it before my mind, achieving some state of calm through all this chaos is a must. Deep breath now<\/a>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Some say we are addicted to stress, that our neural pathways thrive on it, on back to back meetings and the adrenaline rushing through our bodies. But is pushing ourselves actually making us more productive? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is more, always better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps spreading us thinner through juggling numerous projects at a time – ours, a co-workers, the kids’ – is not a measure of how much we can achieve. Perhaps doing less, resisting the urge to focus on other’s business, focusing more on our needs, on what really matters, is the true way forward. Being able to say ‘no’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking ourselves: do I really have time for this? Do I need to add this to my schedule? Am I the one that has to do it? – is just as important as the skill needed to solve that extra issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"achieving<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Achieving Calm through all the Chaos in 5 Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prioritize: life before work<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ask yourself, which are the most important people in your life? To me is my family<\/a>. What manners next? Perhaps work, a hobby. And then? Friends, sport, social life? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are aspect of your life you need to prioritize at the beginning of each year. Put them in your calendar first: birthdays, anniversaries, school holidays, family gatherings, dates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do not worry to leave the leftover time for work – it will still be plenty available!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create a path through all that clutter<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I am not talking about desk clutter, but all the bullet points on your daily ‘to do’ list. For some, an Excel spreadsheet works well, for others, a daily planning stuck on the fridge door will do. Start with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There you go, now you know in what order to prioritize your daily tasks. Focus on only one task at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plan, prioritize, but also make time to breathe – every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"achieving<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Know your personal and your career goals<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you make them clear to yourself at the beginning of each year, you would have reduced most of the clutter from your daily planner. They say, if you know your yes’s, then your no’s are easier. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping your goals in mind makes it easier to prioritize on a day to day basis and it makes your decisions a lot easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And family time? Sharing daily, joyful moment with your family keeps you connected, thus making it easier to keep your personal goals in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Face it, head-on<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Often, solving the top issues, the most stressful ones, and reshuffling the rest can remove most of the daily stress our minds <\/a>deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next assess these issues that seem to be constantly moved from one day to the next and ask yourself: will I feel a sense of accomplishment if I finish them? Are they important? If you think yes, then schedule one a day, prioritize it and finish it. If no, then they were just cluttering your daily schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"achieving<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meditate and Sleep<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Maybe not for everyone, and I am the first to admit that I have a problem with both – I find them equally time-consuming. But when I do meditate – I realize that my objectives are clearer, what was a conundrum is clarified, I know how to approach a problem and, in conclusion, I feel less stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleeping is a whole other issue. Beneficial for all and it does improve the immune system. And, yes, a good night’s sleep does give us a performance-edge and increases our mind’s agility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is easy to allow small worries to become big issues, but achieving that sense of calm through all the daily chaos is doable and can be a positive aspect of your 2020. I hope it will!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And read on. Poetry, in particular, calms the mind. Poetry is as good as gold<\/a> \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We thrive on stress, yet achieving calm through daily chaos is a skill not many have, yet everyone needs to survive. Make 2020 easy peasy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Achieving Calm through all the Chaos. * We thrive on stress, yet achieving calm through daily chaos is a skill not many have, yet everyone needs to survive. Make 2020 easy peasy. #stressfree #goals #FamilyFirst","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1332,1764,1335,1684,1340],"tags":[2390,2386,2387,2388,2393,2394,2396,2398,2391,2397,193,2399,2395,2392,2389],"class_list":["post-4587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrations","category-coffee","category-education","category-holiday","category-parenting","tag-5-steps","tag-achieving-calm-through-all-the-chaos","tag-calm","tag-chaos-daily","tag-create-a-path-throigh-clutter","tag-declutter-your-mind","tag-face-it","tag-family-before-career","tag-from-chaos-to-calm","tag-head-on","tag-how-to","tag-importance-of-sleep","tag-know-your-pesonal-goals","tag-life-before-work","tag-meditate"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/calm1.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18783,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/link-expat-life-chat-steve-allison-patricia-furstenberg\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":0},"title":"In the News: Expat Life Chat, Steve Allison and Patricia Furstenberg Podcast #Im4Ro","author":"Patricia Furstenberg","date":"10\/12\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Link to the 'Expat Life' LIVE chat between Steve Allison and Patricia Furstenberg: music and memories, stories and life.","rel":"","context":"In "100 Word Story"","block_context":{"text":"100 Word Story","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/category\/100-words-story\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Link to Expat Life Chat, Steve Allison and Patricia Furstenberg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Link-Expat-Life-Chat-Steve-Allison-Patricia-Furstenberg.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Link-Expat-Life-Chat-Steve-Allison-Patricia-Furstenberg.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Link-Expat-Life-Chat-Steve-Allison-Patricia-Furstenberg.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Link-Expat-Life-Chat-Steve-Allison-Patricia-Furstenberg.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Link-Expat-Life-Chat-Steve-Allison-Patricia-Furstenberg.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9065,"url":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/therapy-through-books-bibliotherapy-reading-stay-happy\/","url_meta":{"origin":4587,"position":1},"title":"Therapy through Books. 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