Between today and tomorrow, I am: taking one child for a physical, taking another to a specialist, taking one for braces, another for counseling. I'll also ensure one gets to summer tutoring on time, and the other logs reading hours.

What I won't be doing is working.

As I looked at my schedule for the week, I immediately felt frustrated. I felt tears come to my eyes as I wondered how I'd possibly pull this off along with running my own business.

Taking my own advice, I used a tool called The Pause. It's just as simple as it sounds. I set down my phone, walked away from my computer, and just sat and breathed. After I felt a bit more calm, I asked myself what I was thinking. My thoughts were:

I can't do this
This isn't fair, why do I have to do EVERYTHING
I can't run a business and manage everything for my kids

The next step is to see if these thoughts are true. They felt true in the moment, but after the pause I realized

I can do this. I scheduled all of the appointments myself. My goal was to get them all taken care of early in the summer.
I don't do everything for my kids. I have a babysitter who is awesome, they visit their dad, my parents and family help. What I do for my kids, like take them to the doctor, is because I choose to.
I can manage a business and my kids. I do it all the time. I purposely scheduled the appointments during hours where I don't see clients. I created my own business so I could have the schedule and life I want.

The moral of the story is: our brain freaks out sometimes.

That's ok. If you want to feel better, just pause, notice your thoughts, and see if they are true.

Sick of your brain freaking out regularly? Then let's talk. I can help you feel calm no matter how many appointments you have in a week.

Sometimes your brain freaks out