4: When Life Feels Too Full: Schedule Clutter and Slowing Down

Feeling rushed even when nothing is technically wrong?

In this episode, we’re talking about the kind of clutter that shows up in the pace of your life — a full schedule, too many tabs open, and the feeling of moving so fast that you miss what’s happening right in front of you.

Jackie shares a simple story from a walk that became a reminder to slow down, notice the pace of everyday life, and make more space for what actually fits in this season.

If you’ve been feeling scattered, stretched thin, or like your week moves so fast that everything starts piling up by the weekend, this conversation will probably feel very familiar.

If you want help putting this into action, the One Space Reset Kit is a great next step. It’s a short guided reset to help you clear one space at a time and create momentum without turning it into a huge project.

One Space Reset Kit: HERE!

Key Reminder

Clutter is rarely just physical.

What’s piling up in your home may also be connected to what’s piling up in your mind, your calendar, and the pace of your week.

You do not need a giant overhaul.

You just need a place to begin.

Links & Resources

One Space Reset Kit:
https://making-the-space.kit.com/products/the-one-space-reset

Follow Jackie on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/makingthespacewithjackie

Email Jackie:
hello@jackiepicchi.com

If this episode resonated with you and you’re ready to take the next step, grab the One Space Reset Kit. It’s a short guided reset to help you clear one space at a time — whether that’s a space in your home or one of the open loops we talked about today.

→ Grab the One Space Reset Kit here!

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow the show so you don’t miss your Monday reset.

Connect with Jackie:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/makingthespacewithjackie
• Email: hello@jackiepicchi.com

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Disclaimer:

© 2026 Making the Space, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this podcast may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission.

This podcast is for educational and coaching purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, medical, or mental health care.

Transcript

Speaker 9 0:00

I had a moment on a walk this week where I realized how often I'm still rushing even when I don't need to be. And I think that's true for a lot of us. We move through our days with so many tabs open, trying to fit so much in that we end up rushing past the things happening right in front of us.

0:18

So I wanna tell you a quick story. I love going for walks. I've always loved walks as a form of self-care for me, and I really try hard to prioritize that, especially during these busy weeks when there's a lot of competing priorities. A walk is just so nourishing for my self-care. And so this is one of those weeks where I start the week off with great intentions. Like I'm gonna go over a walk every day. I'm gonna get a little bit of body movement in. But of course, you know, Wednesday, Thursday rolls around and things are just starting to pile up. You know, we've been talking about these mental tabs. There's lots of tabs open in my brain, lots of things that need to be attended to and taken care of. But yesterday was just one of those days where I just paused for a moment and I really checked in with myself about what do I need today? I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, and what do I need? Part of my brain was telling me there is a laundry list of things in your brain and on paper that need to be done, and in your inbox, there's a ton of stuff that needs to be taken care of. The other part of my brain just knew better and said, I think we need to make some space for taking care of you right now. So without even overthinking it. I just headed out to take a walk. Usually I'll make sure that I've got my smartwatch on, I've got my earbuds in so I'm prepared. I can listen to a podcast that I wanna catch up on, maybe a favorite album, or I'm gonna make a phone call. There's usually something going on in terms of multitasking on my walks. I don't know. If you're one of those, please tell me. I'm not the only one, but I usually have a little plan of what I wanna get out of my walk, including my self-care. Right. Okay, so this was like the minimal version of me going on my walk without taking all the things and being quote unquote prepared.

Speaker 7 1:54

So I get going on the walk and I'm walking. I notice in a little bit of a hurry pace, and I don't know if it was just a little bit of this unsettledness, I don't know if this happens to you when you don't have your normal setup. Right? So I didn't have earbuds in, I was just. Walking, but I was walking faster and I noticed as I'm heading out on a trail, I see there's a woman with her dog kind of pulled off to the side. And so as I approach them, I just turn to say hello. Like it's just a simple acknowledgement, a wave as I'm passing by and her cute little dog just comes up and jumps all over me and gives me lots of love. She's apologetic. I'm telling her no need to be sorry because we love dogs and it's so nice to see a friendly little dog that just wants to say hi. So we end up having this. Impromptu conversation right there on the trail where I'm almost stopped, like we're walking really slow 'cause her dog is sniffing around and having the best time of its life. And as I'm starting to walk, continue my walk, she kind of picks up her pace and she's walking next to me. So I slow down a little bit and we're just matching, kind of mirroring each other's pace at this point. And having just a beautiful conversation about dogs and being out walking and the weather. And it was honestly just a bright. Thought in my day and I realized that I don't always stop to have those conversations with random people because sometimes, you know, I'm on a mission, I have limited time, I've got earbuds in and I'm going, but today was a whole lot different. So we get to this point where we're naturally just kind of breaking off and going in different directions and we just kind of paused and acknowledged. It was nice chatting. She went on her way with her cute little dog, penny and I went on my way and continued my walk and. I told myself in that moment. It is time to slow down. I don't have to walk so fast. I wanted to walk like Penny and her owner because as I was approaching them on the trail, I noticed they were just walking, just taking some time, just really taking everything in. Right? No earbuds in, not on a mission. Just taking the time to soak in the day. And I thought, I wanna mirror that. I wanna do that too. And the funny thing that happened, you guys, I'm continuing to walk and I kid you not, there are at least. 12 dogs walking their owners. Yes. I'm gonna say that again. 12 dogs walking their owners. And what I mean by that is nobody was in this hurried pace walking their dogs, right? There were so many people out with their dogs that were just. Taking in the day, letting the dogs sniff around, right? It's almost like us taking a walk and taking a moment to stop and smell the roses. I have definitely done that. I love the roses in my neighborhood and I will stop and smell them because they're gorgeous and they smell amazing. So. I just thought that was so interesting and seeing all these people just being right, they're not at a hurried pace. Their dogs are just being there present, almost teaching them a little bit of that self-care moment. Right. So the rest of my walk was absolutely nourishing because. Here I am now noticing the people around me, taking the time to smile and say hi. Noticing all the beautiful flowers that are blooming and the birds that are chirping everywhere and seeing all the color changes in the trees, and just feeling the breeze and every little bit of nature around me. And I thought, gosh, if I had done what, you know, maybe a typical walk would've been. I would've probably been halfway into what I was listening to, thinking about all the mental tabs, knowing the to-do list that I'd have to tend to the minute I get home.

Speaker 14 5:23

But this really was just a moment for me to slow down and be present in what I was already doing, and I think that's what really stood out to me here. It wasn't just that the walk felt nice, it was that I realized how often I'm still moving through even good things with too many tabs open. Even something that's meant to be self-care, like a walk, I'm still used to turning it into something productive, something efficient, something that has a little plan attached to it. And I think a lot of us do that all day long. We stack things, we squeeze things in. We move quickly from one thing to the next. We're not fully present. And after a while, everything can start to feel rushed, noisy, and honestly a little hard to fully enjoy. That connects back to what we talked about last week on the podcast with mental tabs, because sometimes those tabs aren't just coming from what's happening in our heads sometimes. They're coming from the pace of our lives, from trying to fit too much into the day, from moving on to the next thing before we've really been in the thing we're already doing. From saying yes to the things that may be good things, but not necessarily a good fit for this season. And when that starts happening, it doesn't just stay on the calendar, it can start to clutter your mind where you feel more scattered and pulled in different directions. And honestly, it can even start to show up in your home too, because when we're moving through the week in a hurry. Things tend to pile up, right? Things get set down instead of put away, laundry gets pushed off, counters, collect things, and then we get to the weekend feeling like we need to do this big reset just to feel caught up again. And so the cycle begins. And I don't think that always means we're doing something wrong. Sometimes it just means the pace is off. Sometimes it means there isn't enough space inside the week to actually tend to the life while we're living it. And this is something I've been thinking about in my own life too, especially with our family's busy schedule. I've started saying no to more activities for my kids. Not because those things are bad, but because I want us to actually enjoy the things we do Say yes. To, and I don't want us to feel rushed from one thing to the next, just for the sake of being busy. I want it to feel like we've chosen what actually fits in the season that we're in. And I think that's a very helpful shift, not just asking what can I fit in, but asking what actually fits well right now. What gives me enough space to be present? What gives us enough room to enjoy our days, not just moving through them. So if this is hitting home for you, I want to leave you with something simple to think about this week. What is one thing on your calendar that you could say no to, or even just pause for now. Where are you moving faster than you actually need to? And where could you create just a little more space? Not by overhauling your life, but by making one small, honest adjustment. Maybe it's not filling every pocket of your day. Maybe it's slowing down one part of your routine. Maybe it's doing something like a walk without turning it into something else. Because sometimes making space isn't one big dramatic change. Sometimes it's one honest, no one slower movement, one decision to stop squeezing so much into the day, and sometimes that's enough to help you feel a little more present in your own life again.

Speaker 16 8:52

And I think this is exactly why I can't talk about clutter, like it's only about the physical stuff. Yes. Sometimes clutter is the pile on the counter, the laundry that's backed up, the shoes by the door, the random things that keep collecting in the same spots around the house. But in my opinion, it's rarely just about that because a lot of times by the time the house starts to feel cluttered, life has probably been feeling cluttered too. Maybe the schedule has gotten too full. Maybe there are too many tabs open mentally. Maybe you've been moving so fast all week that there hasn't really been any time to reset anything as you go, and then all of a sudden the house starts telling the truth about the pace you've been living at. That's why I think this work has to be about more than just cleaning up a space, because if we only focus on the visible mess. But we never pause to look at what's driving it, the pace, the patterns, the over commitment, the stuff that doesn't really fit in the season. Then it makes sense that things keep building back up. And honestly, I think that's part of why so many people feel frustrated with decluttering. It's not that they're lazy, it's not that they're failing. It's that a lot of the advice out there only deals with what you can see. And sometimes what you can see is just one piece of the story. To me, the deeper work is asking better questions. What actually belongs in this season? What is making life feel heavier than it needs to feel? What keeps getting in the way? What needs to stay, what needs to go, that's the part that makes it more dynamic. That's the part that makes it more honest. And I think that's also the part that makes it stick. Because when you start making decisions from that place, you're not just clearing a surface, you're creating more room in your home, your mind, and your life from what actually matters.

Speaker 19 10:41

And that's also why I believe so much in baby steps because most of us do not need a giant overhaul or to spend all weekend cleaning the house from top to bottom. We do not need to suddenly become a different person most of the time. We just need a place to begin, a small place to start. Just a little momentum. A way to take one step without turning it into one more overwhelming thing that's gonna go on your weekly list. And honestly, I think that matters because when something feels too big, too all or nothing, or too exhausting to even begin, it is so easy to keep putting it off, right? Not because you don't care, but because you already feel like it's too much. That's why iCare. So much about starting small. So if this episode resonated with you and you want a starting point, my one space reset kit is exactly that. It's a simple guided reset. It's a little like having me in your ear, helping you take one small step and build a little momentum without making it into a huge project. So if that sounds like what you need right now, you can find the link in the show notes and whether your next step is my reset kit saying no to one thing on your calendar or just. Slowing down one part of your day. I hope this episode reminds you that starting small still counts. And if this episode hit home for you, come find me on Instagram and let me know where you're making space right now. What are you slowing down? What are you saying no to? Or maybe you're taking a quieter walk this week and try not to rush past all the dogs flowers and little moments right in front of you like I almost did. Alright, friend. Make it a great day and let's go make the space.

Speaker 20 12:21

A quick note before we close. This podcast is for education and inspiration. It's not a substitute for therapy or medical care. If you are needing mental health support, please reach out to a licensed provider in your area.