6 Things To Do Immediately When You Are Having The Worst Week Ever

Ever have a week go from planned perfection to an absolute crash and burn? The week where it feels like nothing goes right at any point? Well, this is the post for you. Today I’m giving you the 6 things you need to do immediately when you are having the worst week ever. The struggle bus may have newly parked in your driveway, but let’s not let it set up camp.

I had this happen recently, and the week got so bad it actually became a little comical. Or maybe that was the crazy settling in and bringing the laughter with it. Either way, I was annoyed, the week was long and the frustrations were real. And certainly, don’t get me wrong, at worst, I think most of my complaints would totally fall into the minor annoyance categories of the world. I always try to keep in perspective; there are people walking around the world with major problems, and very luckily, I’m not one of them.

Still, though…

But, my blog is about mommy struggles and how to deal with them when they pop up. Therefore, I’m sharing. And this week while I was sitting and waiting in the fresh hell that is the cell phone technology and repair store (I’m looking at you, mall retail store that shares a name with fruit from a tree…) I got to thinking. What CAN you do to regain some positive direction when the week is spiraling out of control a little more each day?

Above all, what you do is take action. You go ahead and strangle the cell phone repair-man that just asked you (after you waited an hour for him) if you had turned your phone off and back on again to fix the problem. Strangle that guy immediately. NO WAIT – STOP! Encouraging causing someone bodily harm is probably off brand for Supermom Shuffle, so don’t do that. Even though it’s tempting.

Do these six things instead:

1. Run, don’t walk, to the nearest Cinnabon. I’m serious! Go! Right now! You don’t actually have to run, unless you’d like to put a down payment on the calories you are about to eat. (And yeah, yeah, yeah, don’t eat your feelings, food isn’t a band-aid… WHATEVER. Did you not read the above? We are in bad week crisis mode! I can’t think of many things the cinnamon-ny, buttery, gooey bread goodness balm of a warm cinnamon roll won’t help.) If cinnamon rolls aren’t your thing, go get whatever your favorite treat is. And while you eat it – ponder what’s wrong with you since you don’t like cinnamon rolls…

If you want to be more reasonable about your problem-solving approaches, you could try some of these tactics:

1. Do a quick brain dump of all the thoughts swirling around in your head. Once you get everything out, make a list of what needs to be done, and get about taking care of business. Re-work your plan for the week if needed!
2. Try to fit in a quick 30 minutes of exercise. Throw the kids in the stroller and go for a walk if the weather is good. Air and sunshine have healing powers. Let the kids play outside and move around with them. Give the kids 30 minutes of iPad time and pull up an exercise video on YouTube. Clean the kitchen with the fury! Just MOVE! There isn’t a time I don’t feel better and calmer after some good sweating.
3. When the kids go to bed or when Daddy gets home from work, go take a nice and relaxing bath. You aren’t being selfish! Taking that 30 minutes for yourself could change your night completely and can pick your spirits right back up. Taking that break can really pay it forward for your attitude for the rest of the night with your family.
4. Make a nice meal for yourself and family. Include some of your favorite foods and sit down and enjoy it together. Whatever meal soothes and restores you. Roasted Chicken and mashed potatoes? Chicken Potpie? Lasagna? Pizza? Salad? Just kidding – salad never soothed anyone. If you came to my house on a bad day the menu would be fried hamburgers and potato soup. This meal will soothe any issue you’ve got. Its what my mom made me when I was sick, or heartbroken or nervous or scared. And it’s what her mom made her too. Whatever that meal is for you, take the time to make that happen. Order out food if that’s your treat. Whichever way the dinner happens, enjoy it and be renewed.
5. Call someone that uplifts you and have a chat. Don’t just text, call a person. You need a voice-to-voice connection. It’s important to have a few people you can call for some sunshine and sparkle whenever you need it.
6. Try to get in bed in time for a good night’s sleep. It’ll be tempting to stay up late to regain control over the chaos that was the day. But all the mess will be right there in the morning, patiently waiting. Trust me, I’ve done the legwork on this. The magic cleaning fairy doesn’t come overnight, at least not at my house. Give your brain a rest tonight and just go on to bed.

What if none of these ideas work?

If all else fails, there’s always wine and ice cream and binge-watching TV after the kids are in bed. Find a comedy special and laugh it out. Or binge five episodes of “This is Us” and ugly cry. Nobody ever feels bad after watching a “Friends” episode. It’s completely your choice.

I’m slowly learning that in life, sometimes there is nothing else to do but embrace the overwhelm and the suck. Learning that not every week is going to go according to plan, no matter how detailed your plan, is just part of growing as a person. I’m not historically known for my calmness when life doesn’t go according to plan. (As my husband reads this, there will be snorts of laughter…) But I’m getting much better. I have built an arsenal of tools to help get back on track when life happens and plans stray. And when you are in the trenches, just keep in mind, this week will NOT go on forever, it will end, and this too shall pass.

This too shall pass.

That’s good enough to say one more time. This too SHALL pass. Remember that. Keep that in mind even when you’ve had a terrible week… it’s finally Friday… and you step into what will most certainly be an amazing and warm shower… and you are met with the iciest of cold water… because your hot water heater has stopped working… EVEN THEN, this too shall pass.

Learning to roll with the punches and shuffle life back into order isn’t easy, but this lesson is totally worth trying to master. If you need any help from me on that – I’ll be the icy cold lady shivering in line at Cinnabon waiting for the hot water heater repairman to call me back on my freshly repaired cell phone.

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