Do you ever have times when you feel like you’re drowning? You mentally beat yourself up because you’re so behind with the things you need to do? That looking at your to-do list scares you as you think how the heck am I going to wade through that?
With life ramping up this year I’ve had to find a new routine and this is something I know I’m struggling with. Gone are the days when I would work from 9-5 with a lunch break spent discussing last nights telly or playing rock, paper, scissors to decide who’s going to brew up next. Now I have the flexibility to work when I like and where I like (and have to make my own cups of tea) which is awesome but it takes some getting used to. Having structure is never easy for a traveler to adjust to!
Being self-employed gives you the freedom to organise your diary however you like but my problem has been saying yes to too much, thinking I can do it all. It’s such a luxury being my own boss but I also have high expectations of myself. I want to rule the world and I beat myself up if I don’t meet my own targets, which is ridiculous and not a healthy way to live.
Yesterday I had a bit of a blue day. I’m usually someone who tries to look for the positives in everything but I just had an overwhelming feeling of too much to do and too little time to do it that I ended up doing nothing. Then beating myself up some more for being lazy. Argh! Do you know that feeling?
They say that you can be your own worst enemy and I know I am my harshest critic. But, after a good word with myself I decided that today I was going to kick some ass. I woke up early and promised myself to get back on track. I’ve been neglecting my health and fitness by eating way too many sugary treats, hardly leaving the house as I’ve been busy writing book four and my running routine was a long forgotten memory. This was about to change.
The importance of a work/life balance is something I’m still trying to perfect. I can be at my desk until the wee small hours, my sleep doesn’t fit any ‘normal’ pattern and my eating habits can be defined as high calories zero effort. Oh hello, cheese and crackers for dinner. Again.
I know I have emails to reply to, comments I want to give my full focus rather than just a quick ‘like’, blog posts and photos stacking up, future travel and work opportunities that needed an answer last week, and on top of all this a full novel to write before the end of August. I’m honestly not looking for sympathy but if you do have any tips on how to improve my time-management then send ‘em this way! I also want this blog to show all sides of me, not just the filtered, happier aspects. I do get stressed, I do worry what others think of me, I do live in my head too much, I am human.
I also know that I am so lucky that this is what I get to call work but I need to be mindful of, well, my mind. I need to exercise more, fuel my body with vitamins and water rather than coffee and sweets. I need to get a routine where I can fit it all in but not exhaust myself. I need to go easier on myself and look at what I have accomplished rather than racing to the next thing. I need to stop comparing myself to others as we are all on our own journeys.
Following my own little pep talk I planned to dust off my trainers, have a healthy breakfast and be at my desk to write a couple of chapters all before I’d normally even wake up. The only slight hiccup to this new me was that I tripped after a measly two miles and smashed my phone, grazed my hand and cut my knee before being overtaken by a laughing man in a mobility scooter as I hobbled home, embarrassed and in pain.
So, to cheer myself up I may have had a slice of cake and promised myself that tomorrow is another day … The week can only look up, right?!
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