When You Have Too Much To Do…Do This Surprising Thing First

We’re heading into the time of year when everything feels like a lot. The to-do lists get longer, the pressure builds to wrap things up before year-end, and we’re juggling travel, gatherings, and countless commitments. It can feel chaotic.

In moments like this, I always have to remind myself of one thing I tend to forget:

Take time for yourself first.

When you wake up with your mind already spinning, maybe after a restless night, it’s tempting to dive right into the list. But I’ve learned that if I start my day in that frantic, reactive mode, that energy just snowballs. The day becomes a sprint instead of a flow. It feels stressful, chaotic…overwhelming.

Instead, I try to pause. Just for a few minutes.

• It might be sitting quietly with my coffee, watching the hummingbirds

• It might be ten minutes of meditation on Calm

• Or twenty minutes of reading before checking email

That small investment of time shifts everything. It replaces anxious energy with grounded, restorative energy. It helps me bring calm and clarity into the day instead of chaos and pressure. Making space for myself first creates more space, grace, productive and excited energy, and confidence that it is going to make me better at every single thing I do that day.

So as we enter this busy stretch…holidays, deadlines, family, everything…I hope you’ll take time for yourself first. Even five minutes can change how you move through the day.

Watch the hummingbirds. Look at the leaves. Take a breath.

Give yourself the first moment of your day.