Go From Chaos to Control with Structure

Have you heard of Pieter Mondrian? He was a Dutch painter whose creativity and artwork evolved drastically after WWI. He went from painting trees and landscapes to using bold colors and structure in his art. I’m sure you’ve seen some of this later works. Here’s an example:

Now, you may wonder “what does Mondrian have to do with my life?” Well, it's no secret that women are notorious for having too much on their plate. We're constantly juggling work, family, and social obligations, and it seems like there's never enough time to get it all done. And when that happens, we can feel stuck in a never-ending loop of obligations and activities that seem too much to bear.

But what if I told you that by bringing more structure into your life, you could actually free up more time and get yourself unstuck? It may sound daunting at first, but with a little bit of organization and planning, it can be done. This not to say that it's not important to be flexible and adaptable, but by creating more structure in our lives we ensure we not only don’t fall behind, but that we thrive!

I’m also not going to take emergencies into consideration. We know they come up and we deal with them as they come. I’m talking about our daily lives without the occasional emergency.

Benefits of Having Structure

There are some clear benefits to having more structure in our life. Often, when I talk to women about structure, there is a perception that structure will be very restrictive. But quite the opposite is true. When you have structure, you have more freedom. You spend less time trying to figure out which battle to tackle next, so you gain time.

When we have no structure, we are more likely to have chaos in our life. Why? Because we can suffer from shiny object syndrome. Everything that comes our way gets the same attention and everything becomes urgent. But there is a time and a place for everything and barring any emergencies, knowing “what to do when” is a huge asset in boosting your productivity and minimizing chaos. We also feel more in control because knowing what to expect gives us the feeling that we are prepared and have a good handle on things. All of this results in lower stress. When we’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off or putting out fires, our stress levels can go through the roof. I don’t know about you but living in constant stress is not my ideal way of being, that’s why I left the corporate environment. I found by implementing more structure into my day, I am more effective and calmer, which means I also get a better night’s sleep!

How to Create More Structure

Become Goal Oriented

It’s simple. When we have goals, we stay on track. We prioritize the right things. We are focused and less scattered.

Have you ever gone bowling with little kids? I haven’t been in a long time, but I remember the last time I went, there was a family with littler kids a couple of lanes down from me and they had those rail bumpers to prevent them from gutter balling all the time. Goals are like that! They are the bumper guards of your life. They keep you on the right path and prevent you from veering “into the gutter” where the ball/your life goes nowhere. So, setting some goals is the foundation to having the right structure in our life.

Most people set goals at the start of the year, but you can do that anytime! If you haven’t set goals yet this year or you’re in the review period, today is as good a time as any to refocus and adjust! And you don’t have to set a bazillion goals if you’re not in the habit. Start with one and build on the one.

Having goals, also helps you to PRIORITIZE. You know what is important and when something urgent comes your way, you know how to deal with it, so it doesn’t derail you. Here’s a great tool to help you manage what’s important vs. what’s urgent:

Here’s how you read it:

• If it’s important and urgent AND it is in your wheelhouse i.e.: only you can take care of it, DO IT.
• If it’s important, but not urgent it, plan it. You don’t need to do it right away.
• If it’s not important, but it’s urgent, delegate it. Find someone in your circle who can deal with it for you.
• If it’s neither important nor urgent, LET IT GO.

I found this model to be incredibly useful in keeping me on track of the things I need to do. It allows you to focus on the needle movers, rather than just pushing papers around.

Next, if possible, work in BLOCK TIME. This is another highly effective tool to take back control. Work in 50–75-minute chunks and do the ONE thing you need to do in that time. Need to prepare for a presentation? Turn all your alarms off, close any windows you don’t need, mute notifications, and silence your phone (they’ll leave a message). Giving it your undivided attention for that time will help you get in flow and make progress.

At the same time, staying hunched over your computer for 3 hours is counterproductive, even if you THINK you’re in flow. Your energy goes down, your focus starts to waver, you become less effective. So, in between those 50 minutes, RECHARGE; go for a short walk (preferably outside), grab some water, take some intentional breaths, do a 5-minute meditation. This will help you feel recharged, and you’ll get back in flow to finish. And the added bonus of recharging is that you will not crash at the end of the day.

Make Planning your Best Friend

So much good comes from planning! And it all starts with a SOLID MORNING and EVENING ROUTINE. Routines are a terrific way to add some structure in your life. I know when I don’t do my morning routine, I feel off. It feels like I am spending the day trying to catch a running train. And when we spend some much time on the computer and supporting others, it’s also important to have a winding down routine. Who else has worked until the very last moment and then try to go to sleep right away? How is that working for you? I know it always takes me forever to fall asleep!

We also need to REVIEW and PLAN OUR LIFE. I found the best day to do that is on Sundays. Every Sunday morning, I pull out my calendar and I take stock of what I have coming in the week. It’s my time to prune (if I have to), move things around, delete things and make room, add more of the needle movers, add some self-care time, whatever it takes to make sure I am ready to have a solid week. The other thing I do is review my week; what went well, what didn’t go so well, what did I learn. It helps me keep track of my progress and I also use this information to help me in my weekly planning. It’s a win-win.

Something we can all be more intentional with is making time for SELF-CARE. It is one of the things we do not do enough of. There is no prescription for self-care. It’s whatever works for you. It can be meditation, losing yourself in a book, taking a bath, listening to music. Doesn’t matter. It is whatever makes you HAPPY and much like Calgon (if you don’t get the reference it, google it) takes you away!

Finally, make sure you PLAN YOUR NEXT DAY the night before. Reviewing what’s coming up the next day, so I can prepare if anything special needs my attention, or simply so I have clarity about what to expect has been great. It can simply take 10 minutes but having visibility on my agenda and drafting a to do list around my open time helps to put guard rails on my focus.

Make Sure you’re Fed Properly

Fail to plan, plan to fail. There’s been too much of that in my life and I’m over indexed in that department when it comes to my health. So, here’s what’s been working:

1. Master grocery shopping. If I don’t make time for it, my health always suffers because when I am left to my own devices, I don’t make the best decisions. Some things that help are not going to the grocery store on an empty stomach (primed for making bad decisions), making sure I have a list to control impulse buying, and if possible, going in on off-times (so you don’t get caught at “rush hour”).
2. Figure out meals before shopping. When you know what meals you’re going to make for the week, grocery shopping becomes a cinch. You know what to buy, how much of it, saving not only time, but money!
3. Set yourself up with snacks. Sometimes, even though I plan my meals, I get hungry in the afternoon. Having good-for-me snacks available when I get a little hungry helps. I always keep nuts (macadamia are my fav) on hand, along with yogurt.

Establish Boundaries

When we have no boundaries, we can be at the mercy of whomever taps our attention. You know who they are and they’re really good at it! It all starts by saying “NO” TO THINGS. If something doesn’t fit within what you want to accomplish AND especially if you don’t get an emphatic HECK YES thinking about it, then let it be a NO. You don’t have to say yes to everything that comes your way. When you do that, you put someone else’s agenda above yours. To my people pleasers out there, this can be hard (ask me how I know), but it is essential to maintaining structure in your life.

Aim to have certain TIMES DEDICATED TO EMAIL in your day. Do you check your email when you have one eye half open? Danger! Danger Will Robinson! I recommend checking around 11 am and later in the day around 4pm. At those times, you can answer those things that require your feedback, do some clean-up, filing, deleting, etc.… In between, I recommend closing email or at least shutting down notification, so you don’t get distracted.

You can also CREATE RULES FOR YOURSELF. Just like with grammar, things run more smoothly when you have rules in place. It’s very simply deciding that when THIS happens, then you will do THAT. The beauty of doing this is that you don’t have to think about how you’re going to tackle a situation. You know that when This happens, your response is That. It takes the guess work and uncertainty out of a decision. It’s not to say there won’t be exceptions, but at least you’ll have a base line to work from.

Focus on Consistency, not Perfection

Do you know what the world’s high performers have in common? They are incredibly consistent! They don’t do things one way one time and another way, another time. They show up for themselves consistently. We can all do something once, twice, or even three times. But habits are formed by being consistent, by showing up when we don’t feel like it and doing the hard things because they’re the right things to do. This leads to long-term success and prevents you from getting and staying stuck!

Final Words

I hope you see how structure can be liberating instead of restrictive. Being more goal-oriented, learning to love planning, making sure you fuel yourself and your brain the right way, establishing boundaries and finally, focusing on being consistent can all help you go from Chaos to Control.

What are some of your tactics for establishing more structure in your life, to mitigate chaos? I’d love to hear from you!