Personal Crisis Management – Survival Tips

Sometimes life body checks you just when you think it’s smooth skating!  We have little control over the outside forces in our life but we do have control over how we respond to them.  The best plan for surviving a personal crisis is to have a plan.  Below is a series of tips I have used when I’m living in crisis mode.

• Commit to take care of yourself, first and foremost. You cannot take care of life or anyone else if you’re not getting what you need.  Get enough sleep, eat well, exercise.  Put exercise on the calendar or it won’t happen
• Keep your eye on your goal and make decisions referencing that goal.  Tell someone else about your goal so you have made a commitment to it – out loud
• Just say NO!  You are the manager of your business called you.  Don’t feel obligated to say yes to something that isn’t going to provide a good return on your investment.  Not sure how to say “no” politely?  See my previous post, Saying NO and Setting Boundaries
• Reduce current volunteer work by finding a replacement for yourself or postponing deadlines
• Simplify meals by rotating through a set 5-7 meals per week.  Try making a double batch of meals that freeze easily so you can defrost on a particularly bad or hectic day.  See my previous post, Meal Planning for ideas on making meals easy
• Reduce social commitments, especially during the week.  We need to recharge ourselves by relaxing at home or exercising
• Drop any non-essential projects until life calms down
• Let a few weeds have their way with your garden and a few dust bunnies roll in the corners
• Stop reading non-critical emails
• Spend less time on social media 
• Accept that you have to do things differently to get by and know that you will get back to “normal” soon enough

Using these tips will make crisis management less stressful!  If you’re in a crisis now, I hope that you get through it with flying colors.

What are your go-to ways to manage crisis in your life?  Which one of my tips will you use?