Do you ever wonder why your calendar keeps filling up, no matter how many productivity hacks you try?
In this episode, Michelle reveals the hidden reasons behind your overwhelming schedule — how your thoughts, beliefs, and small decisions are actually driving your busyness. If you’ve ever felt trapped by endless commitments, this conversation will show you a way out.
In this episode, you will:
- Discover why every single thing on your calendar started with a thought and how to spot the ones holding you back.
- Learn how busyness is often a mask for avoiding discomfort — and what to do instead.
- See how your calendar acts as a mirror of your beliefs, and how to reshape it to reflect peace instead of pressure.
Press play now to uncover how to take back control of your time and finally choose calm over chaos.
Featured on the podcast
Sign up for the Declutter Challenge
Podcast Ep #12: How Radical Responsibility Will Significantly Reduce Your Overwhelm
Wondering why you're overwhelmed? Take my "why am I overwhelmed" quiz to find out the source of your overwhelm, and what to do about it.
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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Michelle Gauthier (00:00):
Overwhelm is a choice, and it's a choice that
you make every day with yourthoughts and your actions.
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former Overwhelmed
(00:20):
Working Woman and current lifecoach.
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences, andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life
.
Hello friend, do you ever lookat your calendar and think how
(00:41):
did this calendar get this full?
Here's the truth that I'm goingto tell you today.
Your schedule didn't justhappen to you.
You created it one thought andone decision and one action at a
time.
In a way, this is sort of hardto hear and in a way, it's
really good news because it'sall in your control when you
listen.
Today we're going to talk abouthow everything on your schedule
(01:04):
started with a thought and adecision, how lots of times we
are overpacking our schedulebecause we are familiar with the
feeling of being busy not thatwe love it, but we kind of know
it and are used to it and thenalso talk about how your
calendar really reflects yourbeliefs not the time that you
(01:25):
have, but your beliefs.
And I really felt like talkingto you guys about this today
because it's back to school timewhere we live in St Louis, and
this is a time of seasonaloverwhelm, just like the end of
school is, and the holidayseason is where there are just
all these extra things to do,and it's such a good reminder
(01:45):
that we are becoming overwhelmedonly when we're allowing
ourselves to.
Before we jump into all of thedetails on that.
I want to remind you that I amdoing a fall declutter challenge
.
Speaking of overwhelming stuffcan overwhelm you so quickly,
whether it's too much in youremail inbox, too much on your
(02:07):
calendar, too much in yourcloset or your purse or your car
or whatever it is.
So I'm designing a easy, quickfive day challenge where each
day, you'll listen to a podcastepisode and it will tell you
what we're going to focus on forthat day.
When you join the challenge,you will get a workbook, a
beautiful workbook to documentall of your progress that goes
(02:28):
over the daily lessons for theday, asks you journaling
questions and keeps track ofyour wins.
You can also submit questionsto me and your wins to me, which
I will answer the very next dayon the podcast.
So it's going to be interactive.
There will be prizes and by theend of the week, I guarantee
that you will feel so muchbetter than before you started
doing the challenge.
(02:48):
So come and join me.
It's going to be a great time.
The link is in the show notes.
The cost of this is $17.
Okay, let's get back tobusiness.
The first thing I want to talkabout today is that everything
on your schedule started with athought and a decision.
So if you look at your calendarand there are 10 meetings on it
today, or 10 things on it today, you could go to each and every
(03:10):
one and say how did this end upon my calendar?
So, for example, if I look atmy calendar for today, picking
up my daughter from golfpractice is one of the things
that's on my calendar.
How did that get on thecalendar?
Because she made the golf team.
I agreed that she could try outfor the golf team.
I knew that that would involveme picking her up if she made
the team.
That's how that got on mycalendar.
(03:33):
Taking a look at yours, youmight see, let's say, a field
trip.
What's the thought that got youto have that on your calendar?
It could be a thought like goodmoms show up for everything.
So I need and you make thedecision to do it, even though
you have a really busy work weekand you maybe don't really want
to, or maybe that field trip ison there and you're like, yeah,
(03:54):
I just like to do a field triponce a year.
This is the one that I'm doingand this is going to be great
for me.
So those are two totallydifferent thoughts, but each
thoughts that got that item onyour calendar.
So if you feel like you havetoo many things on your calendar
, take a look and see what arethe thoughts that I'm thinking
that is allowing this to get onmy calendar.
For example, if somebody let'ssay one of your clients or
(04:17):
customers or co-workers wants tomeet with you at 6pm and that's
the time that you usually eatdinner with your family, but yet
that meeting is on yourcalendar right now, maybe you
had a thought like if I say no,they'll go elsewhere, or if I
say no, they'll be upset with me.
So you make the decision to sayyes, even though it cuts into
dinner with your family.
(04:37):
Noticing what you're thinkingthat is allowing things to get
on your calendar is veryinsightful.
So as you start goingthroughout this new week, just
notice how did this meeting geton my calendar, what were my
thoughts, what was the actionthat I took to get it here?
Taking radical responsibility.
If you don't know what I meanby radical responsibility,
(04:58):
there's a whole episode on thatand we'll link that in the show
notes.
But taking radicalresponsibility for your decision
is so helpful.
The second reason why ourcalendar ends up being overly
busy is that you use busyness toavoid discomfort.
This one cuts me deep.
Being busy often feels easierthan the discomfort of saying no
(05:21):
.
So you don't have to feelguilty or awkward or selfish or
worry that people won't like youor that people might think
you're lazy.
So you just go ahead and fillup your calendar and pretend
that you're superwoman and thatyou can do all of the things.
It's uncomfortable to be busy,but it's less uncomfortable than
facing saying no or thinkingabout how people won't like you.
(05:43):
Although I kind of debate that,I think it's really important
to recognize that those are twouncomfortable situations.
And which is worse?
When push came to shove, for me, it was worse to be jam-packed
and super busy all the time thanthe discomfort of saying no.
You're just weighing thediscomfort.
Which one is getting you closerto living the kind of life that
(06:05):
you want to have?
Which version of discomfort isbetter that you want to have?
Which version of discomfort isbetter?
And if you need any help onlearning how to say no, learning
how to stop people pleasing,learning how to set boundaries
there are tons of episodes onthis podcast.
Set up a one on one meetingwith me to learn about coaching
with me.
That is exactly what I do.
(06:25):
And the third reason whyoverwhelm is a choice that
you're making is because yourcalendar reflects your beliefs.
And that might sound kind ofweird, but your calendar is more
than logistics.
It's a mirror of your beliefsystem.
So whatever you believe to betrue about yourself and others
and your worth is playing out inyour weekly calendar.
Funny story.
(06:45):
So my handsome man friend, Iwas telling him on the way home
from dinner one night I had areally busy day that ended up
with being at my daughter's newschool for a back to school
parent night, and it wasdefinitely an item that was on
my calendar.
I did not feel like going, butI really wanted to go because I
wanted the information.
So we decided we were going tomeet up for dinner afterwards.
(07:06):
So we met up and had dinner anda glass of wine.
And on the way home I said Ijust really had almost no breaks
today.
I had lots of client meetings,I had a doctor's appointment for
myself, I had to help my sonwith something, then I had to go
to this meeting for my daughter.
It was just a really busy day.
And he said and how did thathappen that you accepted so many
(07:27):
things on one day?
How dare you turn that aroundon me?
I was like, well, because Ireally felt like I just needed
to do all those things today.
And he's like, oh, and whatdoes that mean about you that
you really feel like you need todo all those things in one day?
Because he was calling me outhard core.
(07:47):
He's not a therapist or a lifecoach, by the way, this is just
the way he is.
He's deep.
Anyway, what he was gentlysaying to me is are you trying
to do as many things as possiblein a day because it makes you
feel like you're enough or itmakes you feel like you're
worthy?
And it was a great question andit really made me pause because
that's what I used to do in myold life, all the time, 24/7.
(08:10):
That's what I was doing.
And I realized that the reasonwhy that day had worn me out so
much is because I did have a daythat was kind of like that day
had worn me out so much isbecause I did have a day that
was kind of like that.
So it was a really goodrealization and it made me
remember that my belief whatused to be my belief is I'm only
as valuable as the amount ofwork that I do in a day, did
drive that one day doesn't drivemy life, but it drove that one
(08:33):
day and it helped me refocus forthe next week to be like okay,
I value rest.
I get a lot of things done in aweek.
I don't need to have ajam-packed calendar.
I had to, like, say my newbeliefs out loud in order to
create my calendar from that.
The good news is you don't needa new time blocking system.
You just need to look andidentify what's really going on
(08:57):
behind the appointments on yourcalendar.
What are the thoughts you'rethinking?
What are the feelings you'retrying to avoid?
What are the beliefs that aremaking you book yourself and
overbook yourself?
Because as long as you believethat your worth is tied to your
output or your helpfulness oryour availability, your calendar
will always be full, but not ina good way.
(09:19):
Okay, friends, that's it fortoday.
Overwhelm isn't a mystery.
It's the result of a thousandsmall choices rooted in thoughts
that you maybe have neverquestioned before.
If you want to startquestioning those and getting
down to the thoughts and beliefsand actions like people
pleasing that you're taking.
Reach out to me, set up aone-on-one consultation with me
(09:39):
to learn more about coaching.
And while you're there in theshow notes, don't forget to sign
up for the declutter challenge.
It's going to be great.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
(09:59):
website at michellegauthier.
com.
See you next week.
Overwhelm is a choice, and it's a choice that
you make every day with yourthoughts and your actions.
You're listening to OverwhelmedWorking Woman, the podcast that
helps you be more calm and moreproductive by doing less.
I'm your host, MichelleGauthier, a former Overwhelmed
(00:20):
Working Woman and current lifecoach.
On this show, we unpack thestress and pressure that today's
working woman experiences, andin each episode you'll get a
strategy to bring more calm,ease and relaxation to your life
.
Hello friend, do you ever lookat your calendar and think how
(00:41):
did this calendar get this full?
Here's the truth that I'm goingto tell you today.
Your schedule didn't justhappen to you.
You created it one thought andone decision and one action at a
time.
In a way, this is sort of hardto hear and in a way, it's
really good news because it'sall in your control when you
listen.
Today we're going to talk abouthow everything on your schedule
(01:04):
started with a thought and adecision, how lots of times we
are overpacking our schedulebecause we are familiar with the
feeling of being busy not thatwe love it, but we kind of know
it and are used to it and thenalso talk about how your
calendar really reflects yourbeliefs not the time that you
(01:25):
have, but your beliefs.
And I really felt like talkingto you guys about this today
because it's back to school timewhere we live in St Louis, and
this is a time of seasonaloverwhelm, just like the end of
school is, and the holidayseason is where there are just
all these extra things to do,and it's such a good reminder
(01:45):
that we are becoming overwhelmedonly when we're allowing
ourselves to.
Before we jump into all of thedetails on that.
I want to remind you that I amdoing a fall declutter challenge
.
Speaking of overwhelming stuffcan overwhelm you so quickly,
whether it's too much in youremail inbox, too much on your
(02:07):
calendar, too much in yourcloset or your purse or your car
or whatever it is.
So I'm designing a easy, quickfive day challenge where each
day, you'll listen to a podcastepisode and it will tell you
what we're going to focus on forthat day.
When you join the challenge,you will get a workbook, a
beautiful workbook to documentall of your progress that goes
(02:28):
over the daily lessons for theday, asks you journaling
questions and keeps track ofyour wins.
You can also submit questionsto me and your wins to me, which
I will answer the very next dayon the podcast.
So it's going to be interactive.
There will be prizes and by theend of the week, I guarantee
that you will feel so muchbetter than before you started
doing the challenge.
(02:48):
So come and join me.
It's going to be a great time.
The link is in the show notes.
The cost of this is $17.
Okay, let's get back tobusiness.
The first thing I want to talkabout today is that everything
on your schedule started with athought and a decision.
So if you look at your calendarand there are 10 meetings on it
today, or 10 things on it today, you could go to each and every
(03:10):
one and say how did this end upon my calendar?
So, for example, if I look atmy calendar for today, picking
up my daughter from golfpractice is one of the things
that's on my calendar.
How did that get on thecalendar?
Because she made the golf team.
I agreed that she could try outfor the golf team.
I knew that that would involveme picking her up if she made
the team.
That's how that got on mycalendar.
(03:33):
Taking a look at yours, youmight see, let's say, a field
trip.
What's the thought that got youto have that on your calendar?
It could be a thought like goodmoms show up for everything.
So I need and you make thedecision to do it, even though
you have a really busy work weekand you maybe don't really want
to, or maybe that field trip ison there and you're like, yeah,
(03:54):
I just like to do a field triponce a year.
This is the one that I'm doingand this is going to be great
for me.
So those are two totallydifferent thoughts, but each
thoughts that got that item onyour calendar.
So if you feel like you havetoo many things on your calendar
, take a look and see what arethe thoughts that I'm thinking
that is allowing this to get onmy calendar.
For example, if somebody let'ssay one of your clients or
(04:17):
customers or co-workers wants tomeet with you at 6pm and that's
the time that you usually eatdinner with your family, but yet
that meeting is on yourcalendar right now, maybe you
had a thought like if I say no,they'll go elsewhere, or if I
say no, they'll be upset with me.
So you make the decision to sayyes, even though it cuts into
dinner with your family.
(04:37):
Noticing what you're thinkingthat is allowing things to get
on your calendar is veryinsightful.
So as you start goingthroughout this new week, just
notice how did this meeting geton my calendar, what were my
thoughts, what was the actionthat I took to get it here?
Taking radical responsibility.
If you don't know what I meanby radical responsibility,
(04:58):
there's a whole episode on thatand we'll link that in the show
notes.
But taking radicalresponsibility for your decision
is so helpful.
The second reason why ourcalendar ends up being overly
busy is that you use busyness toavoid discomfort.
This one cuts me deep.
Being busy often feels easierthan the discomfort of saying no
(05:21):
.
So you don't have to feelguilty or awkward or selfish or
worry that people won't like youor that people might think
you're lazy.
So you just go ahead and fillup your calendar and pretend
that you're superwoman and thatyou can do all of the things.
It's uncomfortable to be busy,but it's less uncomfortable than
facing saying no or thinkingabout how people won't like you.
(05:43):
Although I kind of debate that,I think it's really important
to recognize that those are twouncomfortable situations.
And which is worse?
When push came to shove, for me, it was worse to be jam-packed
and super busy all the time thanthe discomfort of saying no.
You're just weighing thediscomfort.
Which one is getting you closerto living the kind of life that
(06:05):
you want to have?
Which version of discomfort isbetter that you want to have?
Which version of discomfort isbetter?
And if you need any help onlearning how to say no, learning
how to stop people pleasing,learning how to set boundaries
there are tons of episodes onthis podcast.
Set up a one on one meetingwith me to learn about coaching
with me.
That is exactly what I do.
(06:25):
And the third reason whyoverwhelm is a choice that
you're making is because yourcalendar reflects your beliefs.
And that might sound kind ofweird, but your calendar is more
than logistics.
It's a mirror of your beliefsystem.
So whatever you believe to betrue about yourself and others
and your worth is playing out inyour weekly calendar.
Funny story.
(06:45):
So my handsome man friend, Iwas telling him on the way home
from dinner one night I had areally busy day that ended up
with being at my daughter's newschool for a back to school
parent night, and it wasdefinitely an item that was on
my calendar.
I did not feel like going, butI really wanted to go because I
wanted the information.
So we decided we were going tomeet up for dinner afterwards.
(07:06):
So we met up and had dinner anda glass of wine.
And on the way home I said Ijust really had almost no breaks
today.
I had lots of client meetings,I had a doctor's appointment for
myself, I had to help my sonwith something, then I had to go
to this meeting for my daughter.
It was just a really busy day.
And he said and how did thathappen that you accepted so many
(07:27):
things on one day?
How dare you turn that aroundon me?
I was like, well, because Ireally felt like I just needed
to do all those things today.
And he's like, oh, and whatdoes that mean about you that
you really feel like you need todo all those things in one day?
Because he was calling me outhard core.
(07:47):
He's not a therapist or a lifecoach, by the way, this is just
the way he is.
He's deep.
Anyway, what he was gentlysaying to me is are you trying
to do as many things as possiblein a day because it makes you
feel like you're enough or itmakes you feel like you're
worthy?
And it was a great question andit really made me pause because
that's what I used to do in myold life, all the time, 24/7.
(08:10):
That's what I was doing.
And I realized that the reasonwhy that day had worn me out so
much is because I did have a daythat was kind of like that day
had worn me out so much isbecause I did have a day that
was kind of like that.
So it was a really goodrealization and it made me
remember that my belief whatused to be my belief is I'm only
as valuable as the amount ofwork that I do in a day, did
drive that one day doesn't drivemy life, but it drove that one
(08:33):
day and it helped me refocus forthe next week to be like okay,
I value rest.
I get a lot of things done in aweek.
I don't need to have ajam-packed calendar.
I had to, like, say my newbeliefs out loud in order to
create my calendar from that.
The good news is you don't needa new time blocking system.
You just need to look andidentify what's really going on
(08:57):
behind the appointments on yourcalendar.
What are the thoughts you'rethinking?
What are the feelings you'retrying to avoid?
What are the beliefs that aremaking you book yourself and
overbook yourself?
Because as long as you believethat your worth is tied to your
output or your helpfulness oryour availability, your calendar
will always be full, but not ina good way.
(09:19):
Okay, friends, that's it fortoday.
Overwhelm isn't a mystery.
It's the result of a thousandsmall choices rooted in thoughts
that you maybe have neverquestioned before.
If you want to startquestioning those and getting
down to the thoughts and beliefsand actions like people
pleasing that you're taking.
Reach out to me, set up aone-on-one consultation with me
(09:39):
to learn more about coaching.
And while you're there in theshow notes, don't forget to sign
up for the declutter challenge.
It's going to be great.
Thanks for listening.
Thank you for listening to theOverwhelmed Working Woman
podcast.
If you want to learn more aboutmy work, head over to my
(09:59):
website at michellegauthier.
com.
See you next week.
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