I see you mama! I see you trying to mother like you don’t work and work like you don’t mother. I see you wanting to do great work in the world and also be an amazing mother. I see you trying to maintain your high standards and be conscientious whilst also loving those around you with all of your heart. I see you constantly doing and giving.

I also see you trying not to drown in the weight of the responsibility. I see you keeping your head above the water but feeling like the tide keeps rising.

I see you and know you, because I’m there with you.

What I know for sure is that trying to do it all isn’t possible. And if it is, it isn’t sustainable. Trust me – my adrenal fatigue after having my first child taught me this lesson the hard way. If you find yourself wanting to do it all (not to mention do it all perfectly and do it all now) then I understand that.  But it isn’t helpful as a working mum.

If you find yourself caught on this treadmill . If you feel like your life is full and overwhelming and exhausting, I wanted to share with you a secret…… we don’t have to do it all.

The secret actually lies in doing less. But before you either poke me in the eye for pointing out the obvious or scream at me

“I know this already Nicky but how!?!”

I want to remind you that our culture doesn’t encourage us to do this. So the secret in doing less isn’t knowing the secret, but actually giving ourselves permission to do it.

Our lives can easily become overloaded and overcomplicated. Doing too much leads to complicated logistics and overwhelm in our minds (which leads to overwhelm in our bodies). This then sucks our time and energy away from focussing on the things that lead to the most joy and satisfaction in our lives.

As Kate Northrup says beautifully in her book ‘Do Less’:

The less your life is bulging at the seams with complexity, the more space you have to show up for what truly matters.

Here are some of the common culprits for complexity and overwhelm in our lives:

• too much stuff – toys, clothes, gadgets etc
• too many meetings
• saying yes to too many things and not having good boundaries in place
• trying to do everything yourself
• overthinking things
• taking on responsibilities beyond those that are truly important to you
• trying to make other people happy

Here are some ideas on how to simplify and do less to have more time and energy for the things that really matter to you:

• decluttering your wardrobe to only things you love and make you feel really good and work well together (join our live masterclass on Autumn Winter Wardrobe Wisdom For Working Mums to learn how to do this)
• batching tasks – do things like batch cooking, batch cleaning, batch making phone calls so you don’t waste time and energy jumping from task to task
• online food delivery/meal planning/ingredient delivery service
• delegate as much as possible
• delete things from your to-do-list that if you’re honest don’t need to be on there
• let go of the need to please others and over help (rescue)
• say goodbye to relationships that add drama or unnecessary complications in your life
• step down from extra responsibilities in your life that are taking you away from what really matters
• working from home/remotely to reduce your commute time

When you give yourself permission to simplify your life and actually make a conscious intention to do less, you can begin to live with more ease. Because the world doesn’t need you busy and overwhelmed. It’s ok to do less. In fact it’s vital to do less.

So here’s to more ease mama because you deserve for it to be easier.