[248] How to Handle Challenges That Derail Your Schedule

Life has a way of ... lifeing. Whether it’s a sick child, an unexpected meeting, or a task that takes longer than planned. As busy working moms, these moments can completely derail our carefully planned schedules. In this episode, I’m sharing my tried-and-true strategies for handling those challenges with grace and resilience. You’ll learn how to reprioritize effectively, stay flexible with your routines, and lean into systems to stay on track. Plus, I’ll share a personal story about how I handled a chaotic moment in my own life and came out stronger. Remember, it’s not about perfection—it’s about progress.

Key Takeaways:

1. Acknowledge that life happens, and give yourself grace when things don’t go as planned.
2. Reprioritize your to-do list by focusing on what truly matters and letting less urgent tasks wait.
3. Use tools like Trello to maintain systems and stay organized during unexpected challenges.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• Magic Mind
• Episode 237: Five Ways to Prioritize Your To-Do List
• Trello Boards for Moms

Transcript

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Sometimes life just lives. You have things that come up like the kids getting sick, unexpected meeting, or maybe that meeting went way too long and it wasn't how you initially planned it. Maybe it's getting some news that has gotten your mind going all over the place. Whatever it is, these challenges come up. And even though I talk a lot about routines and being prepared and planning out your week, Life happens. So how do you handle the challenges that come up? That caused you to have to reroute your schedule. Well, that's what we're going to talk about today. Hey there. My name is Tony and I am the podcast host of the real happy mom podcast. The podcast for busy working moms who need help with managing their time. And achieving their big goals without pulling their hair out. And in today's episode, we're going to be going over. Ways to handle challenges that derail your schedule. So, you know, those days when your to-do list fields in this and your brain just won't cooperate. Well, I used to have plenty of those days until I discovered magic mine. Magic mine is my secret weapon for staying sharp, calm and focus. No matter how hectic life gets. It's a little green shot packed with all natural ingredients that help me stay productive without the jitters or the crash I get from drinking. Several cups of coffee. For me, it's like having a little focus very on my shoulder, whether I'm navigating a full schedule of patients, brainstorming podcast ideas for real happy mom, or just trying to keep up with the kids' energy after a long day. Magic mind keeps me in the zone. And the best part. It works fast and I don't need to rely on endless cups of coffee. If you're looking for a way to boost your focus, creativity. In calmness, you have to give magic mind a try. Head over to www.magicmind.com and see how I can transform your day. That's www.magicmind.com. So recently I had a situation that came up that through my schedule composed. Lee off. And I feel like I handled it pretty well. There have been many times that I can look back and say, I did not do that well, but this time I did. And I wanted to share with you a couple of things, because I know I am not a unicorn when it comes to having. Challenges that throw your schedule off. So the first thing is to just stop and acknowledge. What is going on. You can start by saying like, okay, the kid is sick. And there's nothing that you can really do about it. I always say that. I like to think that, um, the lawyer, his little cousin and I live in Asgard and I'm a Demi God, but I'm actually a human. And I can't always show up like a superwoman. And that's okay. So give yourself some grace and just accept that life happens. Like I said, the kids make it sick. You may have an unplanned event. You get stuck in traffic. Whatever it is, life happens. The next, you went to reprioritize things. And this is really important because a lot of times we have things that per our schedule off and we want to continue on, like, we can do what we initially set out to do for the today. But that's not always the case. And probably won't be the case because there's going to be issue with either time or focus so that you won't be able to. Complete your scheduled the way you initially planned it. So stop by reprioritizing and reassessing your schedule and identifying the top things that you have to get done. So for instance, I was at the end of the day, I was trying to hustle to get dinner completed, but for some reason I was just struggling with getting these tacos ready. If you are like me. You have many toppings for your tacos? I don't just have like three or four. I had like 10 or 15. And so it gets to be a lot kind of getting everything prepared, chopped and ready. So I noticed I was taking a little bit of time and then I was trying to close the blind. And the string on the blinds broke. At this point, I'm like, oh my goodness, it's going to take me another like 15 minutes to take the blinds down because I'm short in. I have to get a special tool to. Release the blinds and then actually just stringing everything through a tiny. All that. I knew it was going to take me a long time. So what my husband did was remind me. You don't have time for that. Focus on what you're doing right now. And he just threw up a blanket over the blinds and said, you can take care of that later. And that's the same thing for you. What is something that's coming up that you're like, oh, I need to take care of this, but you can really put that off and take care of it later. So reassess, like what you have going on. And look and see what is actually the priority that you need to get done. And then focus on that. And if you need help with prioritizing, there is a podcast episode. That can help you with that. Make sure to check out episode 2 37, where I share five ways to prioritize your to-do list. If you need help with getting your priorities straight. Um, next, you want to stay flexible with your routines. I talk a lot about routines and I have routines that really helped me with managing my day so that I can keep my stress levels down as well as making sure I'm getting things done. But sometimes you won't be able to do your routines exactly the way that you're used to doing. And that is totally okay. Routines are meant to be. Flexible and adaptable. They're not hard and set rules that you have to follow. So give yourself some grace. And be flexible with your routines so that you can continue throughout your day and your week, even with the challenges that come up. Next you really want to lean into systems and one tool that I have that helps me with these systems is Trello. And I talk a lot about cello, but having different Trello boards that have systems in place. Help me to really make sure that I'm not overlooking things because a lot of times we think like, okay, I don't need to do this right now, but it's actually a task that is essential to help you with whatever you need to do next, but you just don't see it in the moment. So really lean into whatever way that you keep track of things so that you can get things done. And. Really see what can actually wait versus what needs your attention. Right. Right now. So Trello is a tool that really helps me with this and helps me to stay focused and streamlined. And also keeps those systems in place. Lastly, you want to really shift your mindset. On how things are going for you. And you really want to focus your attention and your energy on progress over perfection. And I know this is easier said than done, but just know that setbacks don't define who you are or how your week is going to go. Even if you have things that come up in your schedule, you can still have an awesome day, an awesome week, even when things don't go as planned. So just remind yourself. You just need to make progress. You don't have to be perfect. And you can still get things done. And have a great day and great week. So those are the things that I've found helpful when it comes to challenges that derail your schedule, make you have to reroute your schedule and can throw things off for you. So that is all that I have for you today for this particular episode, I hope that you have found it helpful. Definitely make sure to stay tuned for next week. For another full episode, I will see you then take care and with lots of love.