If that's even a thing...
Listen, I KNOW I missed a week with this blog. But this is the perfect blog to be late on because it kind of explains itself…you’ll understand.
If there’s one thing in my life that’s certain, it’s that I’m busy af. Wanna hang out? Send me a Google Calendar invite and give me 3-5 business days to get back to you 😅
Yes, that might sound dramatic, but I’m kinda not kidding…I LIVE by my Google Calendar because I have a very stacked schedule. I’m a professional dancer, a pilates instructor, a dance competition judge, a dance master teacher, a studio admin assistant, and dammit I even took on writing a blog. Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning, but it’s taken a lot of personal growth to get to the point in which I finally feel organized as far as my schedule goes.
But where do I find balance among all of the busyness?
Sometimes, I struggle with this. I can’t lie to you about that. I’m actively working to continue pursuing all of the things that I want to be doing while still prioritizing my physical and mental health. However, here are a few ways that I find balance while maintaining my busy lifestyle.
The best way that I’ve found a way to clear space in my calendar? By BLOCKING OFF SPACE IN MY CALENDAR. I’ve started actually scheduling me time and time off in which I don’t allow myself to do anything else. Typically, I use this time to nap, do my laundry, catch up on my favorite shows, cook a nice homemade meal, bake chocolate chip cookies, and even fill in my coloring book.
I think it’s also important to acknowledge that alone time and social time are different. VERY different. Social time is necessary, since as humans, we are social beings. However, social time can be just as draining as the time we spend working. I will 100% be the person to pencil in my friends when I want to spend time with them, especially since I’m an extrovert. However, when I’ve blocked off alone time, I will be taking that time…ALONE.
But that’s not to say that I don’t still dedicate time to spend with my friends! I love a good girls’ night, lunch date, or cocktail out with friends. And a night at the club? Count me in! Quality time is my love language and it’s important for me to spend time with my people. One of my favorite ways to decompress from a busy week is by hanging out with my friends and laughing about something silly that one of us did. I’ll bring the wine!
Burnout is also so real, y’all. When I start to recognize that I’m burnt out, I know that I have to force myself to take a break, or life will make me take a break in a way I don’t want to. I swear…every time I’m feeling overworked and I don’t give myself a night off, I end up sick or with car troubles or in some sort of situation that makes me take a time out. I’d much rather make the decision on my own to recharge than have life force me into it. Therefore, recognizing burnout and taking time to refuel is essential to finding balance.
I’m also a very busy gal (yes, we’ve established that, but it’s worth repeating). More often than not, I’m ridiculously overwhelmed by my own calendar and looking at all of the things on my to do list. What’s helped me stay afloat though, is just focusing on one thing at a time. I have to teach from 6am-9am. Then I’ll take class from 9am-10am. Then I’ll drive home and make lunch. Then I’ll practice on my own before I have to go to rehearsal from 7pm-10pm. It’s alllllll about time blocking and giving yourself the opportunity to 100% zone into one thing before shifting gears to the next. It helps me stay focused and get more done.
This next one is literally the hardest part of maintaining a balanced life for me. Listen…I’m a people pleaser through and through. And I absolutely HATE letting people down. So it breaks my heart when I tell someone “no.” However, saying no is essential to finding balance. You can’t overbook yourself so much that you become overwhelmed. Prioritizing yourself and your own wellness is much more important sometimes than grabbing that round of drinks with your friends. You can always reschedule or pick a different date. But you can’t always make it through the next day when you’re running on empty. This gets hard when you’re the “yes man” like I am, but it feels a lot better to hang out with friends when your cup is full rather than when you’re trying desperately to savor the last drop.
And as an anxiety-ridden girlie, I always ask myself this one series of questions when I’m starting to feel like my life is all out of whack. Is this going to stress me out tomorrow? A month from now? 6 months from now? A year from now? When I realize that my anxiety is in the moment and that this situation will resolve, I start to feel a lot less overwhelmed. It’s a series of questions that have gotten me out of panic attacks and helped me just reorganize my thoughts. 10/10. Highly recommend.
To be fair, I’m still working on all of these skills. Recognizing that breaks are a necessity is a challenge, but as I continue to adopt these into my life, they start to feel more natural. Balance feels good! Really good!
So there you go. That’s why this blog was a week late – I was prioritizing my own well-being and saying no for a moment to get some rest during a very busy time. I’m sure you can understand! I’ll be more punctual next week ;)
How do you find balance in your life?