When You Over-Commit

Sometimes, we simply say “yes” to too many things. Whether it’s volunteering at your child’s school, as snack mom for the soccer team, or that extra work project or house project, we find ourselves with too many tasks and not enough time, even if we cut back on sleep.


Here are some tips on what to do when you find yourself over-committed.

Learning to say “no.” This can be hard for women especially, as we tend to have hearts willing to help those who ask for it. But to keep a healthy balance between work, home, children, husband, church, volunteer opportunities, family and friends, w need to say “no” to things.

Part of saying “no” is remembering that “no” doesn’t mean you don’t care about the person asking or the task to be done. We have to say “no” in order to say “yes” at another time.

Scaling back. Weeding things out of your schedule can be a difficult but necessary part of your life. Start by making a list of all your commitments for work, family and children. Print off a monthly calendar from Google Calendar or something similar and fill in each task for one month. See what overlaps and what tasks involve too much time.

Drop things one at a time. Pick the one thing that seems to the biggest stresser and step out of your commitment. Wait a week or two to see if your schedule eases enough that you can keep the other tasks. If not, drop another one and wait another week or so. Instead of dropping everything at once, slowly disentangling yourself from commitments will help you see what you can comfortable carry.

Add things back one at a time. If you need to go cold turkey for a season, get back into the swing of things one commitment at a time. If you know you tend to over-commit, start by adding one task or involvement each semester (like fall, spring and summer) and wait a full semester to see how you handle the additional task.

By keeping a closer eye on your time and commitments, by carefully managing our yeses, we can keep the delicate balance between work, home and family from reaching the tipping point.

Until next time,

Sarah