#144| The Maycember Effect: Why You’re Overwhelmed and How to Solve It Without Guilt: Overwhelm, Productivity, Time Management & People Pleasing

Are you drowning in May's chaos, juggling field trips, finals, and forgotten teacher gifts — all while trying to keep up at work and maintain relationships and get some sleep?

This episode is your calm in the storm. May often feels like a marathon of invisible labor for working women, and it’s not in your head — it's real. You’ll learn why this month feels harder than others and how to stop the burnout spiral before it takes you down.

In this episode, you will:

• Discover the one mindset shift that instantly relieves pressure and overwhelm.
• Learn how to use “B-minus” effort to get more done with less stress.
• Get three powerful ways to simplify your May calendar (without guilt or shame).

Hit play now to feel seen, understood, and supported — and to finally take control of your May with a calm, doable plan. This too shall pass!

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Life can be overwhelming, but on this podcast, you'll discover practical strategies to overcome overwhelm, imposter syndrome, and negative self-talk, manage time effectively, set boundaries, and stay productive in high-stress jobs—all while learning how to say no and prioritize self-care on the Overwhelmed Worki...

Chapters

• 2:09 May is A LOT.
• 3:20 Good Enough is Good Enough
• 6:30 What Can You Cross Off Your List?
• 7:58 May 31st is Coming

Transcript

Michelle Gauthier: 0:00

You don't have to do it all, and you definitely don't have to do it all perfectly, even if your brain tells you that you do.

Michelle Gauther: 0:11

You're listening to Overwhelmed Working Woman, the podcast that helps you be more calm and more productive by doing less. I'm your host, Michelle Gauthier, a former Overwhelmed Working Woman and current life coach. On this show, we unpack the stress and pressure that today's working woman experiences, and in each episode you'll get a strategy to bring more calm, ease and relaxation to your life.

Michelle Gauthier: 0:38

Friend, hi. I'm gonna start off today by being straight up with you and tell you that I, as of yesterday, described myself as hanging on by a thread, and you know what that has to do with. It has to do with the month of May. There are so many additional things that I have to do and that I'm sure you have to do too. I made a post about this because I counted and there were 16 additional things to my already full schedule that I had to do in May, and everyone who replied echoed the same sentiments. So we are not imagining it. I got all my podcast stuff ready to record this podcast for you and I thought to myself I can't, I've got to take a nap before I can even record this podcast. I am straight up exhausted, so I just had to lie down. Not only did I have to take a nap before I could record this podcast, but also I didn't meal plan this week because I didn't have time, and what that has meant is that I have had to order delivery for lunch. One day, I had delivery lunch and a protein bar for breakfast and dinner. How's that I don't think I'm hitting all my macros with that plan, and so if you're feeling like I am and you're just barely hanging on, this podcast is for you. It's going to be short. I'm going to tell you why May feel so overwhelming, one mindset shift that can help you calm the chaos and then give you some practical, do less tips that you can use this month.

Michelle Gauthier: 2:09

Let's dive in. Okay, let's just call it what it is. First of all, the craziness of May is real and also you're not alone. It's like school events, sports tournaments, graduation parties, field trips, events case. I had a couple work deadlines that I had to do too. I'm helping my older son study for finals. It's just sort of nonstop around here. The logistics and emotions and all of the things that have to happen in May is like Olympic level stuff. And then there's the part where we have to show up at work and still be a thoughtful partner and maintain friendships and remember to buy end of year teacher gifts. And, oh my gosh, if you are a teacher and you're doing all of this, both from the side of being a parent and the side of being a teacher, who you're amazing. Hang in there. So I think it's really important for us to just remember and you've probably heard this from me before but it's no wonder that we feel overwhelmed, because this is a really high volume month for invisible labor. You're carrying around more than most people can see. Probably another mom is the best person if you want to really be seen and understood. So if you feel like you're barely holding it together, you're totally normal, okay.

Michelle Gauthier: 3:29

The second thing I want to talk about is a mindset shift for you to consider, and that is that good enough is good enough, and this is the point where I want to offer you some relief from everything that's going on this month, because you don't have to do it all, and you definitely don't have to do it all perfectly, even if your brain tells you that you do, because you would prefer to do things -everything- A plus, but this is a great month for B minus. What I see in my coaching during all the months not just me but if we have a thought like, I have to do all these things and I have to do them perfectly, it leads to overwhelm 100% of the time, and when you're overwhelmed, you do basically nothing. You sit and spin in overwhelm, not knowing where to start or what to do first, and often we have negative self thoughts in that moment. So, in order to avoid that feeling of overwhelm, changing your thought and this might be an unconscious thought that you're having but I have to do all this, and I have to do it perfectly to doing my best with what I have today, or doing my best for today, is enough. Let me give you some specific examples of where you can do B minus work and still get the thing done.

Michelle Gauthier: 4:42

So I have a special person in my life who's graduating from college. She was our nanny for like eight years. She's one of my best friend's daughters and she's graduating from college and I'm ultra, ultra proud of her and I had this idea to get her like a cool leather work bag with her initials on it. That just sounded like the perfect gift for her, based on what I know about her. And then, as we get closer and closer, I'm thinking it's too late to order anything that's personalized. Then I was like maybe I can go somewhere and just buy it. No, I can't go somewhere and just buy it because I don't even have time to do that. So what I ended up doing is when I was taking my nephew to Target to buy him a present for his birthday, because he wanted to pick out his own present. I bought a graduation card and I went to the ATM at Target and I got cash and I am going to take the time to write her a really heartfelt note about how proud I am of her and I'm going to throw some cash in there and that's going to have to be good enough and she's still going to know I love her and even though it feels uncomfortable to me because I would really rather have gotten her that other thing, giving her the money and writing down my special words is enough.

Michelle Gauthier: 5:50

So where can you do something like that? Where can you downgrade your effort? The third thing I want to say is a strategy that I recommended in my newsletter a couple weeks ago. But just in case you don't get my newsletter, you should. If you don't, it's called Simple Sunday and it gives you good tips for the week. So sign up. In the show notes I'll put the link, but sign up for that if you don't get it. But if you did get it, you probably read it at the beginning of May and you might have forgotten the suggestions that I gave you. So I'm just going to remind you or tell you for the first time. Here's what I suggest you do Look at your calendar for May.

Michelle Gauthier: 6:30

Literally write, write down everything or highlight everything on your plate this month that is above and beyond your normal schedule. Look at the whole list of those things and ask yourself what can I let go of without feeling guilty? I was talking to another mom yesterday. She was telling me that her son has two different hockey tournaments this weekend and that he has a total of eight games. And she said I just cannot believe I have to go to eight games. And what we talked about was do you really have to go to eight games? Could you go to five games or two games, you know? Could you split with your partner, with his dad? So think about that for you.

Michelle Gauthier: 7:05

Just because it's on your calendar or your to do list doesn't mean you have to do it. See if there's something that you can cross off. I'm crossing off going to my daughter's horse lessons. She likes for me to stay there and like, video her and just be with her, and I have to cross that off during this time because I'm helping my other son study for finals. Not my other son. I only have one son. I'm helping my son study for finals, so I have to cross off my daughter's horse lessons.

Michelle Gauthier: 7:30

So now you have your remaining things. Look at those and see how you can simplify them. Can you make things easier? Can you batch errands, like how I was taking my nephew to Target and I got the graduation cards and also one for the handsome man friend's son who's graduating too, and went to the ATM while I was there. Can you batch your errands? Can you ask for help? I just texted my dad and asked him if he could take my daughter to the orthodontist on Monday, because I don't think I can swing it.

Michelle Gauthier: 7:58

So after you've made your list, crossed things off and simplified or made those tasks easier or made a plan to do B minus work, then we're left with the essential tasks and we have a toned down version of them. But I think it's just most important to remember that May does have a last day. May 31st we'll be here before we know it and we'll be into summer and hopefully things will be much more relaxing for you. But for now, I just want to remind you that you're enough. You're already enough. You have been enough in every month of the year so far and that I know if you're a person who listens to this podcast, you like to try your best at everything and you're doing a great job. Have a great week. I'll see you on Thursday. Thank you for listening to the overwhelmed working woman podcast. If you want to learn more about my work, head over to my website at michellegauthier. com.

Michelle Gauther: 8:53

See you next week.