Inside: Here you’ll find 3 steps to surviving May using the acronym: Minimize, Acknowledge, You. For parents of school-aged kids, May is notorious for being extremely chaotic. This article will help approach it more strategically and joyfully.
They say April comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, but I’m not so sure. I’d argue April ends like a slightly less aggressive lion. It only seems like a lamb compared to the dumpster fire that is May. Or, as my friend Katie calls it: Mayhem.
If you’ve got school-aged kids, you already know—May is wild. But instead of getting swept away in the chaos, we can approach it a little more strategically, using the acronym: MAY.
M: Minimize What You Can
Instead of trying to double (or quadruple) down, start offloading any and everything you can. Now is not the time to try and squeeze in a renovation project, plan new play dates, or finally learn to make sourdough bread.
We can instead, reduce our mental load by eliminating the inessential, simplifying the things we can’t eliminate, and delegating what we can pass off.
We make May harder on ourselves by trying to do it all, alone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and decline commitments you don’t have the capacity for.
A: Acknowledge the Season
Things feel heavier when we don’t expect them. When we reset our expectations and acknowledge that the season we’re in is a wild one, we’ll be less overwhelmed by unexpected turns.
Of course your daughter just remembered she needs a poster board for a project due tomorrow? It’s Mayhem.
Of course your son forgot to tell you he needs to bring a Spanish dish to Spanish class for a potluck… tomorrow. It’s Mayhem.
Tis the Season
If it feels like a chaotic month, it’s because it is. It’s not because you’ve done something wrong. It’s just a busy season, not an existential crisis.
Y: You Matter Too
This month might leave you with just a few small pockets of time to yourself—but those moments still matter. Look for the small pockets of time when you can catch your breath, get outside, read a couple pages in a book, sip your coffee in silence or enjoy a date night with your spouse.
You can’t pour from an empty cup is a cliche saying for a reason. It’s true. You can only give and give and give for so long before it starts to take a toll on your mental health and your relationships.
When I’m running on empty I have a shorter fuse and I’m less present. Don’t forget that you matter too, even in the Mayhem.
In my experience, the most important thing to remember this month is to cut yourself some slack. Things will get missed. You’ll be late for something. An appointment or two may even be forgotten about. And at some point you’re going to find yourself scrambling. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder — maybe that’s true of our sanity as well. Here’s to finding it again in June.
How To Be Busy: Unhurried Living Even When Your Calendar is Chaotic
Available July 15 where books are sold or listened to. Preorder today.
How to Be Busy is a lighthearted, story-driven, and practical guide for finding calm in seasons when being busy isn’t optional.
As a vocal advocate of simplicity and slowing down, I was surprised by how busy I started to find myself. Despite my efforts to keep our calendar clear, it started to fill up. Regardless of how intentional I was with my time, I kept finding myself overwhelmed.
That’s when I realized: I wasn’t doing it wrong- I had just moved into a busier season of life. This book is for people who don’t want to be busy, but don’t always get a say in the matter.
Busy isn’t the enemy. A full calendar isn’t a failure. Sometimes it’s just life—with people to care for, goals to chase, and chaos that shows up uninvited.
We don’t have to choose between unbusy and too busy. Instead we can learn to be busy well.
