This year has been… how do I say it? Full.

If you read my post in the first week of this year you may remember that my word for 2017 was rich.

Boy, was this word a great foreshadowing of what 2017 would be! This has been one RICH, fully packed, delicious year. It’s been good, hard, full of love and full of plans.

2017 has not been shy to fill up my calendar every. single. month.

Here are a few things that filled this year (and trust me when I say, these are just a few):

Taking two weeks of vacation in February which I ended up spending with my sweet mama, at her bedside as she transitioned to heaven (so BEYOND thankful for those two weeks off, totally focused on her).

Taking a three week road trip through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with Marco, our camper and a ton of family and friends. 

Spending a week with Marco’s family in Catalina Island over the summer. 

Flying to Simi in Columbus, Ohio, to host our first ever Finally Free workshop this month, followed by a road trip to visit my family in Michigan. 

Hosting monthly BYOB (Build Your Own Business) meet-ups in San Luis Obispo with my friends Asia, Natalie, and Brittany – they’ve been wonderful! 

Consistently filling my client schedule and loving 1:1 coaching more than ever. 

If you can believe it, I also said “no” to quite a few vacations/events this year because the calendar was so full.

I was thinking about how full this year has been over the past weekend and realized something…

If you would have handed me my calendar and January 1 and said “Hey Paige, here’s your plan for the year. You’ve got this, right?” I might have had a full on emotional overload melt down, right then and there.

How have I gotten through maintaining my business, losing my mom, changing my brand to Paige Schmidt (from Healthy Hits the Spot), managing visits to family, balancing out trips, and just getting by normal day-to-day life.

1) “ONE. DAY. AT. A. TIME.”

Underline. Exclamation point x 10! Bold. Italicize. MAJOR emphasis. 

This is the biggest reason. There’s no other way.

You could NOT (and I would NOT want you to) tell me on the first of the year what would fill my calendar this year.

Just like WE cannot think ahead and obsess over whether or not, or how, we’ll get everything done. Even when we do, it’s never effective.

If you start to think through the holidays, for example, and all the shopping you have to get done (we’re taking gifts off the table again this year – but we don’t have kid’s so this is easy for us!), all of the gatherings you’ll attend, the decorating you have to do, etc… it would overwhelm you.

It would overwhelm anyone! It’s not just you. It’s hard to think about having so much to do. So much coming up (even when it’s good stuff!).

So here’s my encouragement.

Start taking it one day a time. One moment at a time, if that’s what you need.

When you start to feel overwhelmed, bring your focus back to today. Back to this moment. Recall a time when you were busy or had a lot going on, but made it through.

2. Say “No”

Sit down with your calendar and see if there’s anything that you can remove. 

Are there any empty spaces? Reserve those times for yourself. To do nothing. To just be home. 

It’s okay to say “no.” No is a complete sentence. (This is something my girlfriends and I have been working on together and it’s been so freeing.)

This year I’ve said no to work opportunities, clients who weren’t a good fit, vacations where I totally had FOMO but knew I needed to say no anyway, coffee dates… etc… I’ve had to really hone in on where I want and need to spend my time and reserve those times for my “YES’S.”

Now looking back on this year, having gotten through all of the celebrations and the hardships (there have been plenty of BOTH), I feel so so grateful. 

I’m so grateful for this rich, abundant year, full of LIFE. Life that is not perfect. Life that is sometimes messy and sometimes purely good. Life that is REAL.

I wanted to share this post with you in case there are any of you who might need this message to slow down, to reserve time for yourself, say “no” so that you can say “yes” to the most important areas and to reel your mind in to have the mindset of one day at a time. 

If you resonated with this post, share with me in the comments. I would love to hear from you! What are you saying “no” to right now? Do you also need (or want) to take things one day at a time?