Drop off child, go to the grocery store, take the dog to the vet, get drugs for the other dog, where the fuck is the cat, laundry, what color are the floors really supposed to be anyway, laundry, hit the post office, don’t forget the bank – oh hell, or to pick up the prescriptions from the pharmacy, laundry, husband needs my feedback about his business, tell husband my feedback is the same as it always is – fire the asshole and manage your time better, laundry, dishes, pick up the child, make dinner, clean up after dinner, make sure the child is clean, settle for making sure the child smells clean, put child to bed, put child back to bed, get child more milk, beat self up for disobeying the dentist and allowing child to have milk before bed, put child back to bed with sugar from milk pooling around his teeth, fret about future dentist bills, sit down, watch news, freak out about news, play games on phone to distract from the news, go to bed, read, fall asleep.

Repeat as necessary.

Oh yeah, somewhere in there I should also be doing 20 auditions a day, working on that audiobook that I accepted in a moment of weakness and haven’t started despite the fact that the deadline is already behind me, marketing, working with my acting coach, schmoozing my agents, blogging, shooting short funny videos, sparkling on social media and reveling in the joy of being my own boss.

Easy, right?

Yeah, I know, I’m tired just looking at it. And living it. Here’s the ironic part – I actually get paid money to teach people how to manage their busy lives and businesses. I know exactly how to manage all of this stuff. I’ve got tons of tricks and tips that really, really work.

For you. For me, not so much.

So what to do? Well, for starters, time to take a breath or two. Maybe three. Probably not four – who has time for that? But at least two. Let’s do that.

Better? A smidge? I hear you. It takes practice. But it does get a little easier if you just breathe.

Now that our brains are bit more oxygenated, what are we going to do about the craziness in our lives that’s preventing us from doing what we need or want to do? How do we manage all of this? And how did I drag you into all of this? Who says you have a problem with time management?

You did, you’re reading this helpfully titled post about basic time management. Sucker. So what are you going to do about the slightly controlled chaos that is your life?

Keep breathing. This is not the freakout point.

This is the freakout point.

We’re going to stop doing the things that someone else can do better or easier or faster and start doing the things that only we can do. And we – by this I really mean me, I don’t know what you’re going to do – are going to start walking our talk, practicing what we preach, living our own examples. (Insert additional cliches here if you need them. Personally, I think three is plenty but it’s your game too. Do what you gotta do.)

Are you ready? Here it is. I quit.

Quit what? My acting career? My family? My dentist?

Nope. I’m going to quit the main thread of that overly long first sentence/paragraph. I’m done freaking out. No more worrying. No more stress over baby teeth which, let’s be honest, are a practice set anyway. No more angst over the news and politics and the world. Instead, I’m just going to breathe. Then I’ll breathe some more and then, and only then, I’m going to do the things that only I can do.

And Imma do the shit out of them.

I’ll let you know how it goes.