Breaking the Crisis Cycle: How to Stop Living in Reaction Mode & Reclaim Your Time
You feel as though you are lurching from crisis to crisis.
You wake up already behind.
Your phone is buzzing. Your inbox is overflowing. You forgot to prep for that meeting, your kid’s lunch is still sitting on the counter, and—oh great—now you have a friend who needs a last-minute favor.
Just when you get one thing under control, another “emergency” pops up. And let’s be real: half of these “emergencies” aren’t even yours to fix.
Here is what no one tells you—
If you’re dealing with autoimmune conditions, PCOS, eczema, migraines, anxiety, depression, endometriosis, or perimenopause, this nonstop stress is making things worse.
How?
🔥 Stress fuels inflammation, spikes cortisol, and disrupts hormones.
💥 It makes migraines, anxiety, and chronic pain flare up like clockwork.
😩 Your body is already fighting battles—why add unnecessary ones to the list?
If you’re tired of living in reaction mode, constantly running from one crisis to the next, it’s time to break the cycle. Let’s get you back in control.
We know that burnout can be prevented with effective time management.
Step 1: Spot the Crisis Loops You’re Stuck In
Not every “crisis” is actually a crisis. Some are just other people’s poor planning or self-inflicted urgency. (Yep, I went there.)
Ask yourself:
✔️ What types of “emergencies” keep happening? (Work, family, last-minute requests?)
✔️ Are these real crises, or just problems I’ve been trained to fix? (I definitely became ‘fix it’ girl in a number of my corporate roles.)
✔️ Am I the one making things harder than they need to be? (Be honest.)
💡 Action Step: Look at your past week. What were the top 3 things that threw you off track? Write them down—because once you see the pattern, you can start breaking it.
Step 2: Stop Rewarding the Chaos
Let’s get real.
When every day feels like a crisis, it’s easy to confuse being busy with being important. But constantly putting out fires doesn’t mean you’re productive. It just means you’re exhausted.
Here’s how to shut down the stress factory:
🚫 Quit over-promising. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
🔄 Create buffers in your schedule. Stop stacking tasks so tightly that one hiccup derails your whole day.
⏳ Give yourself decision deadlines. Not every problem deserves hours of debate—make the call and move on.
💡 Action Step: Look at your calendar. Where can you create breathing room? Move, cancel, or reschedule one thing that isn’t urgent.
Ready to stop rewarding the chaos?
Step 3: Own Your Time Like a Hollywood Publicist
Imagine you’re the PR rep for a major celebrity. Your job isn’t just to handle the mess—it’s to get ahead of it.
So, let’s do the same for your life.
🔹 Time-Block Your Non-Negotiables. Your time is not a free-for-all. Block off focus time, workouts, and actual breaks like you would a meeting with Beyoncé. (Yes, I would
🔹 Batch Similar Tasks Together. No more jumping from one thing to the next like a pinball. Answer emails in one go, run errands in one trip, and stop letting distractions steal your time.
🔹 Decide What Deserves Your Energy. Not every problem is YOUR problem. (Read that again.)
💡 Action Step: Pick one time-wasting habit (doom scrolling, over-checking emails, saying yes too much) and cut it out for a week.
This is how everyone looks while handling a crisis, right?
Step 4: Shift from “Crisis Mode” to “In Control Mode”
Look, curveballs will always happen. That’s life. But living in permanent crisis mode? That’s a choice.
✔ Start the day with a plan—not just reacting to whatever pops up.
✔ Make quick, confident decisions instead of overthinking everything.
✔ Check in weekly: Are you running your day, or just keeping your head above water?
💡 Action Step: At the end of this week, ask yourself:
What was actually urgent versus just loud?
Where did I take control of my time instead of reacting?
What will I do differently next week?
The Bottom Line: You Don’t Have to Be Everyone’s Crisis Manager
Hollywood publicists know how to handle a mess—but they also know when to shut things down.1 The same applies to your life.
If stress is worsening your health, draining your energy, and making it impossible to focus on what truly matters, then it’s time to take back control.
You are not here to be everyone’s crisis manager. Managing your time and boundaries isn’t just about productivity. It’s about your well-being.
Your body is already working hard. Stop making it fight unnecessary battles.
Start today.
OK, maybe not the publicists working on whatever that crazy is between Blake and Justin over some movie I have no idea what it is about other than the aforementioned crazy.
