keeping calm, carrying on

It's always far too easy to stress and fuss. Last year I resolved never to answer "How are you?" with "Busy" or "Stressed" because really, aren't we all? As soon as you put the pressure on yourself by admitting that you're stressed, it really only makes sense that you'll compound that stress and feel even worse.

I wrote an article recently on multi-tasking. See, women pride themselves on being able to do it, but really, it just means we're doing a lot of things - not terribly well. So now, I try to do one thing at a time - where it matters. If I'm unloading the dishwasher I can always have a kettle boiling. Then I might wipe down the benches while the tea's drawing - that's a sensible use of time. But reading while you're watching TV, or sorting washing while helping your child with their homework doesn't cut it - it just dilutes the effectiveness of what should be the priority.

There might not be enough time to get everything done in a day - but what about a week? Or a month? How many things on your to-do list are vitally, life-threateningly urgent? 30 - or 3? Refining that to-do list, prioritising and delegating jobs to others can make us so much more productive, happier and satisfied - and chances are, we'll get more done in the end.