HERE'S A THOUGHT // SAVE TIME BY DOING LESS

This isn't my typical post, chalk full of DIY tips or free printbles, but I feel like I need to write this a.) to vent and b.) just incase there is one other person out there struggling with balancing it all. Some days it's just difficult. xoxo

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Lately, I have found myself going in 1,000 different directions at once, and I don't like it. I'm trying to balance it all, all the time - being a mom and wife, working my full-time job, working a small start-up gig, running this blog in my "free time" (with the goal of posting original content everyday), and running my freelance photography and graphic design company. 

Some days my head feels like it could possibly explode. Sadly, this is an improvement from where I used to be just a few months back. I just recently started saying "no" and taking on less freelance, but I still feel like a crazy person at times.

Just to give you an idea...I am writing this post on my birthday (I got the day off from work as a gift, and my daughter is at daycare). I'm not complaining about that one bit - I love running this blog, but you see, the plan was to finish two blog posts for later this week really quickly and then go out and enjoy my day afterwards.

It's now 2:45 p.m. How did that happen? I meant to go do lots of fun things that I don't normally get to do today, but instead, I have sat in my home office in front of my computer trying to stay focused on some blogging to dos. This "small task" turned into one giant time suck. This could have something to do with it...

Observance: In the last 15 minutes while trying to write this post I have:

1. Texted back and forth with a neighbor and delivered some different baby bottles to their baby to try

2. While I was outside, I saw birthday balloons tied to my tree and took photos of them. 

3. Posted the balloon photo to Instagram, said thank you to the anonymous gifter(s)

4. Checked and replied to three texts from co-workers

5. Got on Facebook to personally thank people for the nice birthday wishes (I do this all day long as they come in because I'm crazy)

6. Checked my email and replied to four of them

7. Let my dogs outside

8. Painted my toenails

And I still managed to get this far on this post. Holy crap. I take multi-tasking to the extreme. My sister-in-law, Rebecca, and I have chatted about this "curse". We are very similar in this aspect. We both decided that our heads are like a computer with way too many tabs open all at once, with the need to tend to all of them simultaneously. It's just gross. :) 

You may be wondering why I'm even writing this post. Well here's the point... :)

A couple of days ago I stumbled across a great article with tips on how to be more productive, Save Time and Do Less. I really needed to read this, like yesterday. 

These 3 questions resonated with me the most, and are the things I need to work on ASAP:

+ Do you say no?

+ Is Everything on Your To-Do List Necessary?

+ Are You a Slave to Your Inbox?

Once I can answer the above questions with a resounding "YES," I will be on my way to stopping the craziness, slowing down a little bit, and enjoying life even more. Hopefully that day gets here soon.

Am I completely alone here or are there some other people out there in need of some simplifying? Go ahead and test yourself with this list of seven questions.

"Sometimes, productivity isn’t about the systems you put in place or the apps you download—it’s about taking a good look at how you’re spending your time and freeing your schedule from unnecessary to-dos. More hours in the day? I think we can all agree that’s a good thing".

Thanks for reading - I feel better now. :)

And here's a photo because I don't much like blog posts without photos, haha.

This is me "reflecting" sorta stalker-like  :)

PS. Do you want to see more articles and tips like this?  Visit WeWork, a co-working company and great resource for creatives. Also check out WeWork Magazine a new kind of publication for creators.