NEW: Samantha McDonald

There are several hot buttons in life that test our work/life mettle. Moving house is one of them. Here are some pressure-relief tips…

Moving house, and some sanity claws

One of my clients was moving house last week. She’s a very high-powered professional, but this job brought her to tears. With the scarily little time she’d allocated herself to pack and get things organised, it was incredible she didn’t end up a complete nervous wreck.

But her reasoning was that she absolutely, positively had to be at work – the world would probably end if she wasn’t there – and there was no way she could even contemplate taking more time off than the measly 24 hours she’d given herself.

Sound familiar? Here are some tips to get through a big move, and still maintain all (or at least most of) your sanity:

Plan, plan, plan – I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… You need to have a plan in order to get into proper action. Start planning your move weeks or even months in advance. Write lists of tasks that need to be done, arrange the packing boxes early, and sort out the removalist with time to spare.

Take enough time off – It’s been said that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Well, most houses take more than a day to pack, so don’t try to get it done in an unrealistic timeframe. Moving house is among the top 10 largest stresses in life, so make sure you allow for that when you’re deciding how much time to dedicate to it.

Don’t be a hero – I know you like to think of yourself as capable of anything, but sometimes you just have to cut yourself some slack. Like my client, who is normally so much in control, when you have such a huge change in your routine as moving house, it’s easy to become undone. Remember to keep your cool and ask for as much help as you can get. Hey, leave your super-hero outfit for work!

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