How to Reset When You Feel Behind on Life
How to Reset When You Feel Behind on Life
(Spoiler: You’re not actually failing)
Let’s just say it out loud:
Feeling “behind on life” is exhausting.
Behind on laundry.
Behind on emails.
Behind on your goals.
Behind on that version of you who had energy, motivation, and a matching sock situation.
And somehow… everyone else looks like they’re keeping up just fine.
Yeah. No.
First things first: you are not broken
Feeling behind doesn’t mean you’re lazy, unmotivated, or doing life wrong. It usually means one very real thing:
👉 You’ve been carrying too much for too long without a pause.
Life doesn’t slow down just because you’re tired. Kids still need things. Work still exists. The house still gets messy. And somewhere along the way, you drop to the bottom of the list.
That’s not a personal failure — that’s modern motherhood.
Step 1: Stop trying to “catch up”
This might sound sassy, but hear me out:
Trying to catch up is what keeps you stuck.
Because “caught up” is a moving target. The minute you cross one thing off the list, three more pop up. So instead of chasing an imaginary finish line, we’re going to do something radical…
We’re going to reset instead.
Not a glow-up.
Not a total life overhaul.
Just a gentle, grounding reset.
Step 2: Do a brain dump (and don’t make it pretty)
Grab a notebook, planner, or notes app and dump everything swirling in your head:
Things you forgot
Things you’re avoiding
Things you wish you were doing
Things that feel heavy
No organizing. No judging. No color coding.
Just get it out of your head and onto paper.
This alone can make your shoulders drop an inch.
Step 3: Pick ONE thing that matters right now
Not ten. Not a whole plan. One.
Ask yourself:
“If I could only handle one thing this week, what would help me feel more steady?”
That might be:
Booking an appointment
Cleaning one area
Catching up on sleep
Getting your finances looked at
Having an honest conversation
One thing is enough. You don’t need to fix everything to move forward.
Step 4: Lower the bar (on purpose)
This part is important.
When you feel behind, your instinct is to raise the bar — be more disciplined, more productive, more together.
But what you actually need is the opposite.
Lower the bar so you can step over it instead of staring at it.
Progress doesn’t require perfection. It requires momentum — and momentum comes from doable steps.
Step 5: Reset your expectations of yourself
You are not the same person you were:
Before kids
Before burnout
Before this season of life
And that’s okay.
Growth doesn’t always look like doing more. Sometimes it looks like doing less with more intention. Sometimes it looks like resting without explaining yourself.
You’re allowed to change. You’re allowed to slow down. You’re allowed to need support.
And here’s the comfort part 💛
Feeling behind doesn’t mean you missed your chance.
It doesn’t mean everyone else figured it out without you.
It doesn’t mean you’re running out of time.
It just means you’re human — in a full season — doing the best you can with the energy you have.
You don’t need to restart your whole life.
You just need a small reset, a little grace, and permission to take it one step at a time.
You’re not behind.
You’re exactly where you are — and that’s a place you can move forward from.
Soft reminder before you go:
If today all you did was read this and breathe a little easier, that still counts.
Less chaos. More clarity.
You’ve got this, mama 🤍
Xo, Janthina
You don’t need to fix everything at once. If having one calm place to reset and plan feels helpful, my Life Digital Planner is designed to meet you exactly where you are — messy days included.
