Overwhelmed?

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Well, I think that feeling looks something like this...

where I am the donkey and the burdensome cart is my life.

What do you do when you are in this situation?
Anybody who reads my blog knows we are a TJED family (homeschooling family using the Leadership Education model). There are so many principles in Leadership Education that can be used by anybody, in any situation, public schooled or homeschooled, kids or no kids. One is the Six Month "No". This is where I sit down and make a list of everything I have on my plate - kids, husband, household, work, church, myself, etc. I list every teeny, tiny thing - grocery shopping, hair cuts, washing the car, things I've been asked to do, cleaning, kids sports, etc. Then I ask myself the following questions:

• Do I absolutely HAVE to do this?
• Can someone else do it? (delegate to...)
  
• What are the ramifications if I don't do it?
• How will it affect my family if I don't do it?

After truly taking time to ponder each item on the list based on these questions, I find that I can mark off several things that are really NOT necessary, freeing up my schedule for the stuff that IS important. Each time I implement the Six Month "No", I find new ways to balance my life...which allows me to stop being the donkey!