As someone whose interests are numerous and varied, I often struggle with deciding where to place my focus. It can often feel like there is too much to be done, and I can’t figure out where to start. A late night helping a friend turns into sleeping in the next morning because I’m just so tired all the time and can’t seem to get it together enough to get up at 8 am every day, as I know I should. As a mom, I depend heavily on those little pockets of time in order to get things done because I do not (and will not) work a full day; my day is very segmented in order to create balance between getting stuff done and being there for my kids. An extra hour or two of sleep means morning chores that didn’t get finished, emails that didn’t get sent, or daily plans that didn’t get made. So these little tasks trickle down into the afternoon, and then I find myself suddenly looking at the clock at 3 pm, having accomplished nothing as far as actual design/blogging goes, the heart of what I consider to be my “work.” And then I get feeling guilty. Really guilty.
It would be one thing if I were choosing lots of quality time with my kids over these other things I care about, but no, they’re not getting the best me, either. When I fall behind, every area of my life takes the hit. I’m trying (and often failing) to dedicate myself enough to any one thing in order to give it my best; instead, I’m spreading myself all over the place, just trying to get caught up, and feeling like there is just not enough time for all the things I care about.
“You can do anything, but not everything.” I wish I knew where the quote originated, but it’s something I have to stop and remind myself constantly. I am going through a phase where design, something I love dearly, is taking a backseat, for reasons I can’t quite place. It’s just the way things are happening. What seems to be pushed more toward the front is blogging, and connecting with others through social media such as Instagram, and if this is what matters to me, then I should embrace it and put more of myself into them for now. These are things I care about as well, and I’m not unhappy about spending my time this way—I’m just a bit bummed that time spent on one interest always seems to come at the expense of another.
I am going to have to get super-crazy-organized again, because letting my heart decide, on a day to day basis, what I want to spend my time doing that day is just not working for my professional goals. Doing what I want to do in the moment may feel more manageable as it’s happening, but overall this method is overwhelming me and not making my heart happy.
Lovely post, Elizabeth! I feel that way too sometimes about the blog and Instagram and I have found that a lot of the times, it can really take over my life. With that said, since I spend so much time doing it, I find other areas of life starting to fall behind. It's hard to find balance and I almost don't know if that's something that can be achieved, however I hope very much that it can! Let me know if you figure it out and then let me know what you did so I can implement your strategy into my daily life.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find balance and that things will get more organized an on track! Talk soon! Crystal
It's always reassuring to hear about others feeling the same way. I honestly don't know how some of the busier blogs do it! I've had to pull myself away from things like Instagram because it could take up a lot of my time, trying to keep up with it all. I've recently pulled myself back a bit because it was just taking up too much of my time! If I find a way to balance, I will certainly let you know!
Delete