What: Say no to activities that leave you feeling overscheduled and overwhelmed.

The Lowdown: It sounds simple, but for many moms saying no when asked to help out at school, drive a child to a new activity, or come over for a play date can be tough. But stress and the feeling of being completely overwhelmed can result from the overbooking most moms do at one time or another. To make saying no easier, get a calendar or planner (my personal favorite is the familytime.mine 17-month planner) and set aside some time each week where you are free to say yes to activities. Be sure to schedule time just for you, as well. When asked to help with an activity, you can check your planner and if it doesn’t fit your schedule you can say exactly that.

What I say: I’ve gotten pretty good at this one. For a long time I would feel guilty for letting everyone down if I said no to something. I finally realized that while saying yes to things I didn’t want to do left me guilt-free, it also left me completely stressed and often resentful. I finally concluded that if I was making myself miserable by overbooking, chances are the people closest to me were pretty miserable, too. Now I look at saying no as something positive I’m doing for myself and my family, and we’re all much happier.