Why You Need a Wait List for Your Life

Every so often, I need to do something for my business that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Paying my taxes? Learning a new software program? Firing a client?

OK, those things are all a little cringe worthy, but I’m talking about starting a wait list.

When my schedule is maxed out and there isn’t a sliver of room in my calendar to squeeze in another client call, then I know I need to tell everyone else who contacts me that they’ll just have to wait until my time frees up.

And I totally rebel against starting a wait list for my coaching clients until I’m so stressed out that I’m going insane! It’s hard for me to admit when I need to hit the pause button.

But every time I do start a wait list, I feel loads better. It’s like an invisible crushing weight has been lifted off me and I can breathe again. Maybe I should call it a “weight list”?

I need to honor my time and take care of my health. Burning out from too many calls isn’t helpful for me or my clients.

Eventually, some clients graduate from working with me and a few time slots open up. Then I can plug in the folks on my wait list and keep moving forward.

January usually calls for a wait list (hello, new year’s resolutions!) and so does September (maybe because of the back-to-school vibe?).

Having a wait list for my business got me thinking about the other areas of my life where I take on too much. Most items on my to-do list are not emergencies, and in fact, many obligations I force myself to complete could really wait for another day.

Do you need a wait list for your life? (Psst! The answer is YES!)

Here’s how you can guard your time and put things off until the time is right…or forever!

How to Create Your Wait List

  • Think about all the priorities you have in every area of your life.
  • Determine which priorities, obligations, events, responsibilities, and other to-do items are causing you frustration or draining your energy.
  • For each area of your life, write down at least one thing that you can put on your Wait List to handle sometime in the future…or not at all!
  • Review your Wait List once a month to see if there is anything you’re ready to handle now or if anything can be deleted completely.
  • Continue on with your life knowing that the things that truly matter will get done and you won’t become overwhelmed or resentful.

Enter your name and email below to download my worksheet and create your own wait list. Part of the Editor’s Toolkit.

This post focuses on Step 2 of the Life Editing Process, Delete Bad Influences. For more about life editing and what it can do for you, click here.

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1 Comment

  1. Lisa B on June 26, 2015 at 4:10 am

    I LOVE this idea Sage. I generally have a list of to-do’s rolling round my mind which in turn just sit on my shoulders like nagging little monkeys!
    I wrote them all down on my wait list this morning and I feel like the weight has been lifted. Yes, I’ll get round to them at some point but now they’re not constantly chipping away at me when I’m working on something else.
    Thank you ☺