Imagine the set of the game show Family Feud. Two people head to head guessing at the number one answer on the survey to this question:

“What wakes you or keeps you up at night?”

An informal survey sent this exact question to a section of friends, colleagues and clients; the number one answer surprised me.

My guess for the number one answer - worry about family. It was certainly right up in the top three but was not the number one slot.

Not family worries... Himmmm. Maybe the number one slot on the survey is lack of funds because of the fluctuating economy- nope- not even in the top three. Nope.

The number one concern that keeps many of us up at night:

As the game show host points back at the board, “Survey Says: Things I forgot to do or did not have time for.”

Wow, who knew?  Things I forgot or did not have time for. This, of course. encompasses all aspects of our busy lives. It is those thoughts of, “Martha has dance class tomorrow.  Dang, I did not wash her dance tights.” to a panicked state when you realize, “OH, &*#$! I forgot to call back, Ruth. How could I do that? She is one of my most important clients.”

Instead of lying awake trying to get to sleep repeating the task over and over again in your head so you will hopefully remember it in the morning, try this:

- Have a pen and paper next you your bed and jot it down. (Although reading it in the morning may be like reading chicken scratching.)

- Get up; give yourself 5 minutes to write everything down you have forgotten or need to do tomorrow.

-To get back to sleep, Imagine breathing deeply in - into your heart and releasing the breath out from your heart. Do this cycle 10 times.

-Bring your focus back to the breathing when your mind wanders.

Soon you will wake in the morning wondering when you feel asleep.

Vickie Griffith