to sometimes feel I have so much to do that I don't know where to start.

[Numberfour]

I am self employed as a childminder and have reams and reams of paper work to do and ALL of it is behind. I am studying part time for a Masters and have assignments and reading to do. My house is a busy one so not only is there the usual house work to do, but more so because of the constant in and out of children, whom I also feed. Plus DH is not great at paperwork (we both agree on that) so it is left up to me to do (passport renewals and so on). Dh leaves for work at 6am and is very seldom home before 7.30pm so it is hardly fair to get him to share housework with me.

We have a 6 yr old DS whose school work is falling behind because I am not able to get him to do it.

I know! I know! I moan that I am busy, but then here I am on MN.

But: AIBU to feel overwhelmed sometimes? Does anyone else also feel that way? Any mind blowing tips to get me sorted?????

(A rant by stealth, I am afraid )

Yup. That's why I'm on mumsnet right now, surrounded by mess with a billion things to sort out.

And me

Bloody hell you lot are useless!

Yep that's me to. When I feel completely overwhelmed I know it's time to sit and take stock. I try to write down every thing I have to do. Break it down to days of the week and do a couple of things each day starting with the most urgent. I sometimes use an activity sheet that I got when doing a self awareness course. could you even try breaking down paperwork tasks to say 15 mins a night.

Please don't feel guilty for taking time to care for you - no one else will do it. Try to do something nice for yourself each day. I like to go for a run even if it's only 20mins. blessings

Yes.

Get a diary and a notepad.

Make a list of everything that needs to be done.

Then put it in order - urgency and importance.

Some things can be urgent, but not 'important', some things can be important but not urgent and some things are both or neither.

Once you have your list, you can plan your time. Work out how long something is likely to take you and put it into a slot in the diary. Treat your tasks as appointments in a way.

Constantly update your diary and your to-do list, as things will become more or less urgent or important, and things may come out of nowhere that have to take priority, or you may finish something ahead of schedule.

For example, I am currently working on ISO 9001:2008. I had 90 days to complete it, I finished it this morning (30 days!), so have 60 extra days to work with! I can get a head start on something else.

It's all about knowing exactly what you have to do, how urgent and important it is, how long it will take you and planning it all in and - most importantly - following the plan.

Yep I get that overwhelmed feeling a lot. I am an obsessive list maker and find crossing things off when completed very satisfying and that spurs me on to do more.

Not quite understanding the 6 year old getting behind with school work though? I am very anti- homework for children at that age.

TheMagnificentBathykolpian may actually be the saviour of what is left of my sanity.

A time management tip I was given once is to write a to do list and on it estimate the time it will take to do each item. I actually found this v helpful. If you have a long list that seems overwhelming but a bunch of stuff on there that can be dealt with quickly but you have been putting off, you have much more incentive to do it if you realise that you can get rid of 4 things in an hour or whatever.

I have just looked back through the thread and seen that someone else has suggested the same!

Thanks for the tips!

Whoate: I agree - but teacher says he is not making the progress that he could be and she has noticed that he is not reading at home. DS has also been going to bed later than he should because I have been writing up assignments and he has been playing computer games quietly - so 100% my fault there. DS is doing well at school but he has lost that enthusiasm he once had but I think this may be an age and stage thing plus being overtired.

And for the record, in case anyone wonders why I am MNetting while childminding, my kids have all left for the day and I am off to uni in 45 minutes.