I tend to be one of those super busy people. I have a hard time saying no to things and I feel like I can always add one more thing to my plate. I guess I could try an fix that, but the truth is I LIKE being really busy. I mean not so busy that I am feeling a little cray cray, but busy enough that I have lots of things going. It makes my days feel productive, it adds richness to my life because I get to be involved in lots of things, and its just fun! So that said, how does someone remain sane while trying to do it all? Here is what seems to work for me.
1. Do a Little Each Day. I work two jobs. I have my full time day job (probably around 45 to 50 hours a week) and then I also have my Stella & Dot career. My full time job is pretty easy to get things done for - I show up every day and work a a minimum number of hours a week. The one that is trickier is fitting in my Stella & Dot work. I have found the key to making it all work for me is doing a little bit each day of Stella & Dot. When I am eating breakfast, I respond to emails, log into my business account and see if there are any new alerts I need to be aware of (read: SALE!!!), and check on my team's progress. Then I make a list of what needs to happen that day. At lunch I check in with my team, follow up with hostesses, etc. And then I spend a few minutes at night wrapping up things. Sometimes I have more to do in one day, and sometimes I have less. But doing a little bit each day as opposed to spending a whole afternoon on the weekends keeps things moving and gets WAY more done! I think this same philosophy would be true for a variety of things - whether it be your blog, your exercise routine (awkward pause.... I need to start one again), cleaning your house, or whatever.
2. Realize Nothing Will Be Perfect, and That's Okay. It use to be a perfectionist. I would REEEEALLLLYYY but me if things weren't, well, PERFECT. And then I was like, well what happens if they aren't? The world won't end if I don't get everything done in my to do list that day, or if the dishes wait another day (or two...), or I have a typo in an email to a client. I mean, yes, it would be better if things were perfect, but it's just not practical. No one can ever be perfect, and it's better to have something great today, then something perfect (ish) four days later. Sometimes you just have to do your best, keep things moving, and trust that your best effort will be good enough. (side note: even typing this makes me uncomfortable - PERFECT IS BETTER - but alas, not practical. Deep breath. We will all survive).
3. Prioritize. Ya, this has to happen. Time is like a resource. You have a limited amount to get everything done. So sometimes you have prioritize and let a few things slip. Ummm.. occasionally for me this is hair washing (thank you dry shampoo), meal prep (thank you frozen gluten free chicken nuggets), and house cleaning. BUT - what I do get done is stuff I find more valuable. And then eventually the status of my hair becomes a larger priority and then I wash it or I do my dishes and I don't do as much of another category that week and hopefully it balances out.
So these are my tips. I am curious, what do you do to keep things moving when you are super busy? Help a girl out!
These are great tips! Especially number two. This is something that has been hard for me to accept but so glad I did. I had the mentality for the longest time that if I can't do it perfect I won't do it. Yeah not the best way to think. Something that has really helped me keep moving when it gets busy is taking some down time. Whether its reading a book, watching a short show or doing some yoga. Taking that time for myself is sooo important!
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