Feeling like you are falling apart: Ways to get your life on track again
There is nothing worse than feeling like you are falling apart. Maybe you feel as if you are spread too thin. Maybe you feel as if everyone looks so put together and has their affairs in order. Or maybe you are like me and every now and then, the thought of feeling like a failure creep into your mind at night. Nevertheless, feeling like you do not have your life together can be upsetting.
It has taken me a while to work on the negative self-talk and the impossible standards I set for myself. I know now that no one has their life together at every second of every day. Why? Because that is life. We are humans and it is impossible to have everything go our way all the time. We forget that everyone only shows the best parts of their life. To put it simply, we do not see the struggles they go through or how they truly feel.
Regardless, there are some actions we can take to become more organized and feel like we have our life together.
The first key point is to rely on systems. What I mean by this, is that if you want to feel like you have your life together, you can start by keeping a calendar. I used to depend on remembering all my appointments and deadlines without writing everything down. I quickly realized that doing so is not a fool proof plan. We simply cannot depend on our brains to remember everything. Therefore, it is useful to keep calendars and reminders for ourselves. It may seem arduous to do at first, but all you need is to set aside an hour to two hours to get everything down and organize it. Additionally, make sure you can access your systems at any time. This could involve keeping a notebook with you or having your calendars saved on all your electronic devices. Moreover, make sure to name and organize all your documents to avoid losing them. Finally, keep them in a safe place so that you do not lose them. This can involve saving your reminders onto a cloud server.
Another way to feel like you have your life together is to make your bed every morning. I used to hear this from my parents all the time, but I never believed it worked until I began this habit. There is nothing worse than coming home to a messy room. Often, it can exacerbate the feeling of not having your life together. So, make your bed every morning. Doing small chores like this and keeping your environment clean and tailored to your needs can go a long way in alleviating some of these issues.
A third way to feel like you have your life together is to create a routine. There is an art, however, to do this. Start off with a simple routine at first which could involve making your bed every morning, eating breakfast, and taking care of your personal hygiene. Then, once you feel like you can stick to this, you can add a couple more things you would like to complete every morning like a workout routine, or meditation. The last thing you want is to add so many steps in your morning routine that you are unable to keep up with them. Start small and build from there.
Another way to feel better about this issue is to reach out to your support system. I have one this in the past. I reached out to people in my life that seemed to have their lives together and shared how I felt. I realized at the end of those conversations that I was not alone. We are all human and realizing that no one can do it all was the best thing I could have done for myself as it allowed me to remove the pressures, I was putting on myself. Let your loved ones provide you with encouragement and allow them to open your eyes.
Another method that has helped me is to use my time intentionally. Realize that your time is important and that no one will respect it but you. It is okay to have rest days and days where you feel like doing nothing, but in order to feel like you have your life together, it is important to use your time wisely. Time is limited, so spending it doing the things you love and the things that will help you achieve your goals is important.
Finally, set small goals for yourself. Make a to-do list of all the things you must accomplish from the most urgent to the least urgent. Checking them off one by one is not only satisfying but will help you feel more organized and happier that you are doing the work. It will make you feel happy that you are working towards your goals.
There are so many ways to get your life together. There are so many ways to work towards your goals in a sensible and timely fashion. Just remember not to be too hard on yourself if you slip up occasionally. Be kind to yourself and forgive yourself for not achieving everything. Forgive yourself for not having your life always put together, because no one does.
