Busy Mama Fill Your Tank Challenge Day 17

Do it differently! A favorite way of mine to squash overwhelm is to simply do something differently. Having a tendency to be too businesslike, I find that forsaking the "busyness" for a break helps a great deal. I did just that last night---did you notice?!

Today, I am skipping the vacuuming, mopping, toilet scrubbing, and dusting that I had planned. Instead, I am going straight to working in and organizing my linen closet and master closet, and doing my paper flow!

Working backward like this works in the kitchen for daily stuff. For example, I almost always clean the counters, put things back in the fridge, and make the space AROUND the sink  look great BEFORE doing the dishes! That way, if I get a (did I say if? pshaw!) mommy interruption, when I get back to the sink, I can say, "ALL I need to do is the dishes!"

Break the rules. Mop the floor even though the counter is covered in crumbs and someone is coming home muddy in an hour. Vacuum before clearing the table. Dust last using furniture polish or a dampened rag. Skip all of the above and spend the same amount of time doing other projects.

How about making the bed? How can you do that differently? Here are a couple of ideas:

-throw the pillows at the head of the bed and pull the comforter over the mess and you're done (I did it this way for a VERY long time)
-do it very nicely and tightly at 5 PM
-if you don't have the bed made by lunch, wash the sheets!
-Make it at bedtime, and sit in bed and read to wind down.
-Teach your child to make it with you
-Have a contest with your child to see who can "make" their bed first!

I once heard a time-managment guru say that overwhelm is often NOT because you have too much on your plate, but because you are not tackling what's on it! Are the chores you are using as excuses NOT to do those unfinished projects as important as you say they are? If so, you likely are doing a good enough job on them to SKIP them once and get something different done!

What creative difference will you use to help you overcome overwhelm and accomplish something today?