As we were visiting the city of Duluth, MN, this past month, I saw so many gorgeous spots for great family photos. While l love to have pictures taken to capture the memories, our 6 year old granddaughter has a different opinion.

Her speed reminded me of just how fast this summer has flown.

If you feel like I do, and want to squeeze as much as you can out of this gorgeous yet fleeting season, here’s a strategy…

Rather than hoping to do many things before the summer ends, I always find that I can actually do more, when I plan less.

For me, I’m going to choose one activity that I’d like to do before September arrives, and focus on that.

If you’ve got a family, you might want to ask them what they’d be disappointed about, if they didn’t do it before school starts.

Schedule that one thing on your calendar. Commit to honoring it and see your satisfaction rise for making it happen.

And for those of us who have way more to-do’s than we have the time to do them, I’d like to offer a simple, yet highly effective strategy; The Brain Dump.

I’d love for you to experience the same sense of clarity and control my clients and I have when we get everything out of our heads and onto paper.

Here’s how to use a Brain Dump:

Set a timer for 10 minutes. On a sheet of paper, in no particular order, begin to list all of the things that come to mind. These may be tasks, chores, to-do’s, obligations or fun activities.
Once the timer goes off, circle the items that only YOU can do. (Be ruthlessly honest with this. I know… only you can properly fold those clothes so that they fit neatly into the drawers. However, when you let go of your expectations, I would imagine that there may be someone else in the house that can also put the clothes away.)
Schedule 1 circled item per week. If you get to more than one per week, consider yourself ahead of the game. Continue to schedule one per week, until those circled items are complete.

And, here’s what to do with those remaining items that aren’t circled:

I call it the A,B,C Filter Of Control.

For every item that’s not circled in your Brain Dump, you’re going to assign an A, B or a C.

A) ASSIGN this to someone else.

B) BUNDLE this with other similar items.

C) CAN this. ie; Put it in the trash can. Let it go. Sometimes things hang around our to-do lists long after their expiration date.

Download my Filter Of Control worksheet and get ready for fall while still enjoying this last month of summer.

Lisa Bobyak is the founder of Living Fully Balanced™and she’s been challenging the current hustle culture and preventing burnout for nearly a decade.

Because her life once ran on autopilot, Lisa experienced burnout several times and faced life altering challenges as a result.

Now, her mission as a Life Balance and Leadership Coach, is healing burnout and teaching life balance strategies to high achieving women.

Through her Living Fully Balanced™ process, she shows women with full lives, how to regain their energy and increase their capacity so that they can make their mark on the world…without losing themselves in the process.

Lisa is the creator of the Beyond Burnout Kick Start, the Living Fully Balanced Life Planner© and the semi annual Pause Retreats .

How To Ready Yourself For Fall Without Sacrificing The Last Breath Of Summer