Calming the Chaos by Jackie Woodside

The introduction of Calming The Chaos sold me. The author mentions the struggles of living and thriving with an attention deficit disorder and I knew this was the book for me. Often it is hard to explain (and contain) the numerous thoughts and actions swirling through one’s brain if you have Attention Deficit (Hyperactive) Disorder and Jackie Woodside seemed to GET it! Whether or not you have ADHD, you’ll be able to take the practical ideas and habits outlined in Calming The Chaos to bring order to any and all areas of your personal and / or professional lives.

“The truth is that when you say “Yes!” to everything, you are really saying “No” to your peace of mind.”

I believe the best self-help / management books are those with theories, action steps and reflections that can be applied IMMEDIATELY. Calming The Chaos includes sections to do just that. A welcome addition to my resource library to assist with my personal and professional journey to being the best DIVA I am called to be!

 Synopsis of Calming The Chaos

Far too many people in contemporary culture feel they don’t have enough time to “get it all done.” The stress of this chronic overwhelm creates a disorganized mind that leads to a chaotic life. Based on her highly acclaimed “Energy Management” workshops, and drawn from over 25 years of counseling and coaching experience, professional trainer and speaker Jackie Woodside shares her breakthrough methods
that lead to becoming the least stressed, most productive person you know!

In Calming the Chaos, you will learn the step-by-step skills and thought processes that lead to increased productivity and peace of mind. Jackie’s approach stems from the new frontier of human performance called energetic consciousness. Part philosophy, part psychology, fully practical application, you will learn:

• Why there is no such thing as time management and what to do instead.
• How to manage your energy instead of your time and stress.
• The three-step formula for managing every component of your life for the rest of your life!
• Why “to-do lists” are a set up for failure and what really works.
• “The Three Strikes Rule” that will end procrastination for good!
• How to always know that you have the time for what you want and need to do!

Many books promise to change your life. Applying these principles will make this a reality!

 Interview with the Author – Jackie Woodside

 Jackie Woodside, CPC, LICSW is a psychotherapist, coach, speaker and author, specializing in the power  of managing personal energy, rather than time or stress. An Amazon bestselling author of ‘What If It’s  Time for a Change?’ and highly sought-after speaker on leadership and empowerment topics, Jackie  conducts training programs for public, private and government sectors nationwide.

There are a lot of books on time and stress management out there, what makes Calming the Chaos different?

Calming the Chaos is different in that it’s not a time and stress management book as much as it is a “self management” book. This book blends two distinct areas that are necessary to increase productivity and decrease stress: mind set AND skill set.

Why is that important?

Addressing both mind set and skill set are important because if you just change your skill set – which is what traditional time management does – but do not address your mindset (how you think about time, responsibilities and all you have to do), then you may be more effective for awhile but your skills will go right back to where they were because our behavior follows our thinking. You have to change BOTH what you are thinking and what you are doing. If you change your mindset, but don’t add skills, you might have a brighter outlook for a time, but that will disappear when your skills show up lacking. So it’s important to address both sides of this process – add productivity skills and enhance the mindset that you bring to what you have to do.

Why do you think everyone is living in such chaos today?

I think we are living at an evolutionary “jump time” where humanity is truly evolving to a new level but we haven’t gotten there yet! The advent of technology has changed everything. We are constantly inundated with more information at ever increasing rates and what’s happening is that our neurology has not kept up with the pace of technology! We will get there, but as we evolve into the new technological era, we are feeling the growing pains.

So what do we do in the meantime!?

That’s what my book is all about! You have to recognize the problem by increasing awareness of how you use time and how you talk about time, then realize what you are doing that adds to your chaos (what I call energy busters), align your actions with what you want your life to be like and then plan and organize your weeks around these things that you want to have in your life. It is a simple concept, but it takes a lot of focus to implement it into your daily life. But the outcome is tremendous peace of mind and an amazing increase in productivity!

What is the best thing about having written this book?

I can’t choose just one – I have to choose two best things. First is how much the principles in this book have impacted my life and improved my quality of life. And then second is seeing so many people just love the book and get such tremendous benefit from it. I am still getting messages every day from people telling me how much reading this book and doing the exercises has improved their lives. It is very gratifying.