Sometimes I feel a little nudge of restless anxiety. I feel like I’m probably not alone in that feeling. So many different things I am thinking about or wanting to do, ideas I can’t turn off—that I don’t even know where to start. Then before I know it, I wasted the morning thinking about what I had to do instead of actually doing it. But, after these little spirals, I snap out of them by starting one thing at a time. It sounds overly simple, and, in a way, it is, but it’s true. After all, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Obviously, I would never eat an elephant (don’t worry PETA), but hopefully, you get my point.

Previously, before having kids and writing, I owned an event decorating business. I handled weddings for the most part. As most of you know, weddings can be stressful and due to time constraints and client wants and needs, being behind the scenes for those events can be stressful too. I’ll never forget one of my first events. We were racing the clock and I was feeling overwhelmed. I was running from one task and starting another, just thinking about how much there was to do and so little time. My mom stopped me and said to just finish one thing before moving on to the next item on the to-do list. To everyone reading this, that probably seems like a no-brainer, but for me, at that moment it seemed like I was working hard, but nothing was getting done and I was feeling panicked. Sometimes you just need to hear the simplest solution from someone else. So, what stopped me from running around like a stressed-out chicken with my head cut off? I took a breath and finished what I was working on. Then I moved on to the next task, finished it, and so on. Each time getting one line item closer to a completed checklist. One bite closer to eating my elephant.

Fortunately, these days my deadlines are self-imposed and not a make or break on someone’s most important day, but I still refer to my mother’s words often. But, as I sit here thinking about what I wanted to share with you all this week and the laundry that isn’t put away (or folded if I’m being honest), the social media posts I need to schedule, the second book edits that need finalized and so on…the trickle of feeling overwhelmed started to creep in. Then I remembered what my mom told me all those years ago and I realized I just need to finish one thing at a time. Once I reminded myself of her words, I started to feel better. I know I’m fully capable of completing one thing at a time. My advice to you as you head into the weekend is to stop looking at the top of the mountain and just start with that first step. Then take another.

If we can learn to regulate our stress and anxiety—we can pass the skill on to our children. If we want them to clean up their toys, but they won’t start helping—maybe they are overwhelmed by the entire mess. Maybe, if we tell them to pick up one type of toy at a time, they can feel helpful and accomplished instead of overwhelmed! Like when my kids decided they were going to play “toy store” this morning. Which—is so cute—hooray for creativity. However, their version of the toy store was unloading ALL the toys into laundry baskets. And I mean ALL THE TOYS. I reminded them multiple times during this game that they were going to have to put everything back where it goes when they are done. Well, the game ended, and the toys were out of control. I’m sure they felt overwhelmed looking at them trying to decide what goes where because truthfully, I was feeling a bit that way looking at them myself! But, thanks to my mom’s words and that trusty elephant analogy, I knew what to have them do. Take one bite at a time, or in this case, start with the kitchen stuff and then move on to the Paw Patrol figures.

What I truly hope for your weekend and your life is a lack of anxiety and a feeling of rest. Like my daily devotional said today, “And my presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14. So, may you find rest and beautiful family time, and next week, go eat that elephant—just remember to do it one bite at a time!

I have my favorite organizers linked below (organized clutter-organized thoughts) as well as my daily devotional and gratitude journal. Because when you write down things you are grateful for, you are more inclined to keep looking for gratitude in your life as a whole.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and as always, happy reading!