When the world came to a stop at the beginning of the pandemic, we all started to realise just how much we had on our plates. When things started going back to normal, our priorities had changed and we found it difficult to return back to doing the same amount of stuff we did pre-pandemic.
But the truth is that the rhythm we had before was not healthy. Many people suffered from burnout, many were unhappy and feeling stressed. It’s easy to get swept back up into a busy lifestyle after months of mostly being stuck at home. But take what you learned during the past 2 years with you and don’t let things that don’t make you happy take over your life. Here are some tips to help you not spread yourself too thin and instead make time for things that you want to be doing instead!
Stay organised
To help you avoid feeling overwhelmed with whatever you have going on at the moment, it’s crucial for you to stay on top of things. Using a calendar or planner to write down appointments, shifts, classes and so on will already take a huge load off your shoulders. Rather than taking up space in your brain, dump everything you can into a calendar or set yourself reminders. Then you won’t have to stress about remembering many things, and you won’t forget about them either!
Start using an online calendar (such as Google Calendar or Outlook) across your devices or carry a paper planner and pen with you everywhere you go. That way, should anything come up while you are on the go, you’ll be able to quickly check your availability and add new appointments or reminders. You can find more tips on how to stay organised here or browse the Relatable Sunday shop for planners!
Set your priorities
There are only 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week - there is only so much you can do in that time. We have a variety of responsibilities, needs and desires that all need to be catered to. Oftentimes, we don’t actually realise how much we have got going on. So grab a piece of paper and take a couple of minutes to complete this exercise. Write down how many hours per week you spend on these categories:
sleep
getting ready
meals (including prep and clean-up)
commuting
errands and chores
regular commitments (yoga, dance class, dog walking, volunteering, hobbies, etc - write all of the ones you have down)
at work
at university (if you are a student)
socialising (seeing friends, going out, on your phone, etc)
Now, add up all the hours. Do you know how many hours there are in a week? 168, so subtract the number you got previously from 168. Whatever number you come up with is the hours of free time you have every week. It’s important that you have free time to rest and take some ‘me time’.
From that list, select your 3 priorities - the ones that you need/want to spend the most time on. Are they the ones you currently spend the most time on? If they’re not, make changes to have more time for your priorities - try combining errands with your commute time by going grocery shopping on your way home from work, for example. Make sure that you allocate a good amount of time to sleep, however - you cannot function properly if you don’t recharge your batteries.
Learn to say no
Now that you know what your priorities are and how much time you have every week, you have to choose what extra things you agree to do. Has a friend asked you to drive them somewhere, but you have an important deadline and don’t have time to do anything else that week? Tell them you can’t. Were you asked to work extra but you’re tired and were looking forward to a chill night? Say you’re not able to.
You don’t need to justify yourself, no is a full sentence. And you do not need to apologise or feel bad for saying no. If you struggle to say no, you can read some helpful tips here. Whatever happens, you are not a bad person for putting yourself first. So please don’t feel guilty for saying no.
Delegate tasks
Are you overwhelmed with tasks, but there are things on your to-do list that someone else could do? Ask them if they can give you a hand with them, whether this is at work and you ask a coworker to take over or share a task, or at home by asking someone who lives with you to bring out the bins, or you ask your sibling to get your parent’s birthday present.
If, like me, you’re a bit of a control freak and like things to be done a certain way, you need to learn to let go of that control when delegating tasks. The idea is to hand it over to someone else so you don’t have to worry about it, not micromanage them. Trust the other person to do the task, even if they do it differently than you would have. What matters is that the task is taken care of and you have time to work on other things.
Take care of your basic needs
No matter how much you have going on, it’s important to ensure that your basic needs are taken care of. Do you have food in your fridge? Have you had time to shower? Does your flat need a tidy? Have you eaten? Did you have a good night’s sleep? Before you do anything else, make sure all of these basics are fulfilled. And if they aren’t, make time for them.
Make time for you
Taking care of yourself goes beyond just making sure your basic needs are fulfilled. Self-care is hugely important for our mental health and we need to make time for ourselves. Whether that’s by having a slow morning without your phone, taking a daily walk on your lunch break or trying out a new recipe every weekend, spend time doing things by yourself to recharge your well-being batteries. If you struggle with self-care, have a read of this blog post and follow @theself_carekit on Instagram!
Being busy is not a badge of honour
I used to take pride in being busy. I felt like a failure if I didn’t have 10,000 things on my plate and I wasn’t running around all day. While I have always - and will continue - to do many things, my approach has changed. I like having a part-time job while studying. I enjoy helping younger students at uni and being a board member of my school alumni association. I also love having this blog and interacting with you.
But rather than feel like I need to be doing all these things to justify other areas of my personal life not being fulfilled, I am now making sure that these elements are a part of who I am - but not all I am. Being busy all the time will not get me a boyfriend, it will not help me make incredible memories, it will not mean I am more worthy of anyone’s respect or love, and it will not make me happy. So here’s to not just being busy for the sake of being busy.
Thank you so much for reading Day 3 from ‘7 Days of Relatable Sunday’, I hope you found this post helpful. I hope you have a lovely evening and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!
Yours truly,