There's too much to do...

Oops. It’s May and my last blog post was in January. One of my resolutions for the year was to publish a blog post every month… failed that one pretty quick 😅

I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m juggling a million things at once. Here’s what I mean:

Everything currently on my plate (or things I either want to or need to do)

• Go to DMV
• Read
• Meditate
• Write a blog post (lol here we are finally!)
• Keep up with news / social media (already gave up on this one)
• Lift weights
• Run
• Journal
• Keep in touch with family / friends
• Hang out with friends
• Play video games alone
• Play video games with friends
• Sell or get rid of a bunch of stuff that we don’t need
• Do yard work (edge, mow, pick up walnuts, pick up sticks, pick up dog poop, pull weeds)
• Plan a plethora of potential house projects
• Work at my actual job, and do it well
• Feed, walk, and play with Kodak
• Plan and go on date nights
• Replace some light bulbs
• Buy a new smoke detector
• Roll over multiple 401ks
• Keep up with groceries and cooking
• Keep the house somewhat clean
• Replace air filter
• Plan upcoming vacations
• Get enough sleep
• Stretch and wind down before bed to improve sleep quality
• Keep up with new music
• Keep up with new movies
• Keep up with shows that everyone’s talking about

I'm sure I could add some more stuff, but you get the point. I bet the list is even longer for all of the parents out there 👀

Checking in - are you doing okay?

What about you? Do you feel like there’s too much to do and you’re dropping the ball sometimes? Or do you feel like your plate is a little too empty and you have the capacity to take on more? How are you managing your busy life and schedule?

These are legitimate questions I have! If you’re reading this, I would genuinely love to hear from you about this topic.

Maybe there are some secrets and life hacks I’m missing out on. Maybe the answer is slowing down and expecting less. Maybe the answer is getting less sleep. Maybe the answer is asking for more help. Maybe the answer is saying no more. Maybe there is no answer, and we all have to be okay with letting things slip through the cracks. Either way, please forgive me for not keeping up with my blog so far - there’s just a lot to do, and not enough time in the day to do it all 😅

What’s been helping lately

The default for my brain is to keep my entire to-do list swirling around in my head constantly. I’ve been working on this, and so far have found a couple things that are helping:

• Meditating in the morning
• Journaling at night

Meditation

I’m a beginner in this area, but I’ve been using the Headspace app and enjoying it so far. I’ve found that meditating helps me clear my head and empty out some of the unneeded thoughts that are in the back of my mind. I’ll typically wake up, hit the gym, and then multitask a bit by meditating while I’m getting ready for the day. So far I think it’s helping me be a bit more present and not worry about things that I won’t have the bandwidth to address that day.

Journaling

Sometimes it’s hard to fall asleep because of all the thoughts I have in my head. Something that’s been helping me is to physically write everything down to get it out of my head and put it somewhere else. I recently bought a Kindle Scribe that I leave at my bedside table. Every night I get in bed and hand-write whatever’s on my mind. It’s mostly word-vomit and not very structured, but by writing down whatever comes to mind, it helps my brain let go and wind down.

Final thoughts

I want to make it clear that this post isn’t a cry for help. Even though my life has ups and downs, overall it’s great and fulfilling. That’s what’s crazy though - I have a ton of relative advantages compared to so many people, and I still get overwhelmed and feel like I’m dropping the ball in so many aspects of life. Modern society is full of incredible comforts and conveniences, but sometimes I wonder if we’re all paying for that with anxiety and packed schedules. Now, please excuse me while I go tackle the next thing on my never-ending list 🙂