When Everything Feels Urgent: Saying Yes to One Small Thing

When Everything Feels Urgent

It was late afternoon.

Laundry humming.
Phone buzzing.
Dinner not started.

And I hadn’t taken a real breath all day.

I remember thinking:

“I don’t even know where to begin.”

Not dramatic.
Not spiraling.
Just stretched thin.

If you’ve ever searched “why am I so overwhelmed as a parent” or “how do I manage the mental load of parenting,” you know this feeling.

It’s not always one big crisis.

Sometimes it’s volume.

Why the Mental Load of Parenting Feels So Heavy

The mental load of parenting isn’t just the schedule.

It’s the accumulation.

The open tabs in your brain:

• The unfinished tasks

• The emails you haven’t answered

• The appointments coming up

• The things you meant to remember

• The small chores waiting in corners

It’s not one big responsibility that overwhelms me.
It’s carrying ten small ones at the same time.
And that’s usually when I realize I’ve stopped saying yes to myself.

Decision fatigue creeps in quietly.

Everything feels important.
Everything feels urgent.
And somewhere in that urgency, we disappear a little.

What Your Yes Day Really Is

Around here, Your Yes Day isn’t about adding another routine.

It’s not about optimizing your life.

It’s our way of choosing steady over scattered.

One small yes at a time.

Not a dramatic reset.
Not a personality overhaul.

Just one intentional yes to your physical, mental, or social well-being.

Because when everything feels urgent, steadiness becomes the priority.

And this is where The One Thing practice fits so naturally inside Your Yes Day.

The One Thing: Practiced, Not Perfected

The One Thing practice is simple:

When everything feels urgent, choose one small thing that steadies you.

Not the whole list.
Not tomorrow’s plan.
Not every unfinished task.

Just one steady yes.

If you want to read the full reflection behind The One Thing practice, you can explore it here.

But here’s what it looks like inside real life.

Saying Yes to Your Body

When I feel overwhelmed as a parent, my body usually feels it first.

Tight shoulders.
Shallow breathing.
Too much caffeine.
Skipped meals.

Sometimes my one steady yes is almost boring:

Drink water.
Eat something real.
Sit down for five minutes.
Step outside and feel the air.

It doesn’t solve the to-do list.

But it lowers the noise inside me.

You don’t need a new wellness system.

You need one steady yes.

Saying Yes to Mental Clarity

Overwhelm thrives on fragmentation.

When everything feels important, nothing feels clear.

Sometimes I write everything down and circle just one task.

Not the biggest one.
Just the next one.

And I tell myself:

For the next 20 minutes, this is enough.

You don’t reduce decision fatigue by doing more.

You reduce it by narrowing your focus.

Clarity is a form of self-care for busy parents.

Saying Yes to Social and Emotional Health

Sometimes the one steady thing isn’t a task at all.

Sometimes it’s connection.

Or honesty.

Or asking for help.

Sometimes saying yes looks like:

Texting a friend instead of carrying it silently.
Admitting you’re tired.
Lowering the standard for tonight.
Letting something wait until tomorrow.

There was an evening recently where nothing was technically wrong.

There were just too many small things unfinished.

Instead of tackling another task, I sat down next to Squish and listened.

The to-do list stayed long.

But I felt steadier.

And when I’m steadier, I move through the list differently.

If You Like Something Tangible

Sometimes a small tool helps reinforce the practice.

A planner with space for just one priority.
A visible water bottle on the counter.
A short timer for 10-minute resets.

(As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.)

You don’t need more systems.

Just something that reminds you that you don’t have to carry everything at once.

Permission First. Then Momentum.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed as a parent, you’re not behind.

You’re likely carrying a lot of small things all at once.

And volume can be heavier than crisis.

Inside Your Yes Day, we practice this:

When everything feels urgent, say yes to one steady thing.

Not to fix your life.
Not to impress anyone.
Not to prove you can handle it all.

Just to anchor.

Because you don’t need to solve everything.

You need one steady yes.

And from there, momentum grows naturally.

If This Resonated

You can read the full reflection on The One Thing practice here

Or explore more Your Yes Day reflections here

Or pause right now and ask:

What is one steady yes I can give myself today?

We’re practicing that right alongside you.