I struggle with this a lot. I work a standard 8 hour day at the office, then come home and work for my own business until the wee hours of the morning. My days are so scheduled out that I have to plan time slots for grocery shopping, classes, eating, household chores, etc. I have to squeeze in my free time, and at the moment, a lot suffers if my schedule gets messed up.
Keeping a daily planner and religiously tracking my activities is a critical part of my life, and like I mentioned in my last blog post- I don’t do well with that kind of environment. I’m definitely a creative type, so freedom, flexibility, and relaxed atmospheres are when I’m most productive. Rigid time schedules and over-loaded days kill me, and I end up being a stressed out, anxious little ball of dried up creativity. Fun, right?
That’s just one reason why I’ve been trying to break away from the standard 9-5 atmosphere and cultivate a better environment for me to work healthier. One of the biggest struggles in my current situation is the fact that my mind is constantly focused on work. I’m always thinking about sticking to my time slots, what’s next on my list, what projects did I forget to add… My scheduled free time always gets put off because all I can think about are deadlines and the things I’m not getting done. I knew that starting my own remote business and adding a part-time (which really is full-time) job to my plate would be a challenge. But, I also knew it was a step towards the change I need. A move in the direction of a more productive and fulfilling work life. Eventually anyways. Right now, it’s a little hectic, and just adding another client to my list has made it even more so.
I often wondered how people hold down more than one job… The answer is coffee. Constant Coffee. Coffee is the fuel in my veins that keeps me going! I mean, not really, but I’m sure it helps.
Working at both an office and at home makes it hard to really leave work behind when I’m finally done for the day. Even mundane tasks like going to the grocery store is a challenge. There aren’t many places I can go where I don’t run into a client or acquaintance, and they always want to grab you and ask questions or talk about a problem. The only time in the past five years that I’ve experienced what it’s like to not think about work for a short period, was during my vacation last summer. Three weeks of a total work detox- Boy did that help me shift my priorities! I came away with a deeply settled knowledge of where I want to be and a drive to get there. Breaking away from work and getting regular rest is kind of critical in allowing your brain to process things the way it’s supposed to. As much as I would like to say that I’ve improved, with all the opportunity I’ve had to practice, the only way I’ve found to make sure I get that relaxation time in is to force myself to take it. A few key things I have to put into practice for myself are:
- Make sure to block out a healthy amount of free time to your daily planner (digital and/or written) and actively focus on something that takes your mind off work
- Don’t fudge, skimp, and cheat yourself out of that time- Faithfully stick to those timelines you made!
- Firmly keep boundaries- don’t be afraid to put that phone on “do not disturb” if that’s what it takes
- Don’t feel guilty about it! Your rest and time away from work is just as important as anything else on the to-do list
- Make yourself a priority
- Utilize organization tools like: Trello, Calendar apps, cloud storage (like Google Drive), Slack, or a handy stopwatch add-on for your browser to make your days easier to manage
- Make it fun! Treat yourself to something special to encourage the habit
- Know thyself- what do you struggle with? What can you do to help yourself get the rest you need?
- When the temptation to work, or even think about work, pops up- let that train leave the station and tell yourself we’re not going with it this time
- If you have to reschedule things around, it’s okay! Just make sure you reschedule your rest time too
Because of the need to better manage my day, I’m continually looking out for any tools that will help me stay organized and keep myself accountable. I think out of all the ones listed above, the most helpful tool for me to use is my daily planner. I still like to hand-write things, and it’s been enormously invaluable in helping me track projects and be aware of everything I have going on. In a future post, I’ll talk more in-depth about these tools and how I use them.
In short, I’m guilty of always putting others’ needs and priorities above my own… Even to the point of pushing myself to work while sick and getting laid up with pneumonia for the past two months. It’s been a bit of a wake-up call for sure, and it’s still a learning process to break the habit of putting myself last. The trick is finding what works until it’s part of your daily life. Throughout all of this trial and error, I have learned a substantial amount about how I work best, and it has helped me grow even more. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is, managing your project time well is just as important as managing your free time well. And that means putting your health first.
If you have any comments or suggestions on what you do to make sure you get enough rest, leave me a comment! The more people that encourage and share, the more we can help each other succeed. In the meantime, I think it’s about time for my next coffee injection…
-thatgirlintheglasses
thatgirlintheglasses 
You have really done a lot of good work for yourself.
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