A Job, A Business, and Graduate School: OH MY!

I often find myself getting messages that compliment my ability to balance OR asking how I find a balance between the responsibilities in life. I wanted to come on here and talk a little bit about that in some detail. Fake it till you make it, right?

First of all, I think it is always a work-in-progress. There are weeks where I am ahead on everything and juggling things so well that I honestly impress myself. There are also weeks where I feel like I’m drowning and can’t seem to get things done. However, those weeks have become more scarce as I get better at juggling at a normal pace. I think that’s the other big piece of advice that I can offer; make sure that you are doing things at a sustainable pace. There are going to be times where you need to get a lot done in a short period of time but don’t expect to keep that pace up for too long or else you’re likely to end up suffering a burn out of some nature. That is completely natural. Respect your burn outs. There is such a difference between being busy and being productive. Have you ever felt like you didn’t have a minute to breathe all day but then you realize you really got nothing done? UGH. It’s the worst. Recognizing the difference between the two is the first step (or at least it was for me). This helped me realize that I needed to worry less about being busy and more about checking off boxes on my list at a pace that worked for me to truly make a lifestyle change.

I also have to mention that REAL LIFE HAPPENS Y’ALL. Behind every business or social media account is an actual human being. *gasps* Your life and your mental health is so much more important than most of the tasks that end up consuming you. Take things slowly. Take breaks. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your customers and your social media followers are also real human beings and (most of them) will be more than understanding when real life happens. The secret is being honest and being real. That’s important to keep in mind as a customer, too. Remember that the small business you see online is a person who probably is working another job, has a home to take care of, has a social life and loved ones, and a LIFE. There is nothing more rewarding than owning your own business but remember those things if you don’t hear back right away to a direct message or an e-mail. There are days where I can barely keep my eyes open but I’m responding to a message asking for advice at almost midnight because it’s the first chance that I’ve had to be able to take time to be on social media. I do this because I love my business and getting to be here to answer your questions but that isn’t always possible. That’s the thing about owning your own business is there aren’t normal hours. That’s why it is important to work on your productivity and create a routine. Sometimes it can take a while and that’s okay. I’m definitely still a work in progress and I think I always will be as life changes but the important part is to stay ahead of it and just do your best. Be patient with others because it goes back to what your momma told you, “Treat others how you’d like to be treated.”

The next thing that helps me do the above is keeping an organized planner and making lists. Lists. Lists. Lists. Lists. I cannot say that enough. I keep my planner organized so I can easily look at my month or week to figure out what I need to have done. If I have a lot to get done in a week, I’ll write down everything I need to do so I can plan when I can do them and still allow time to work on classwork and to work on my business. It’s just about making things a priority and then going about them in that order. This helps me because if I get things done on a regular basis, I’m less likely to have to increase what I’m juggling because I am staying ahead of myself. I try and get as much done on the weekends as I can so that I have more “free time” during the week so that I don’t feel so overwhelmed. Most of the time, I’m burnt out from a long week so I don’t want to be productive on a Saturday so I’ll take the day and just use it for “me” and then I’ll spend my Sunday being really productive (if I need to be). I also do my best to pre-film or keep videos or posts on hand that I can just save in my phone so that if something comes up last minute and I don’t have time to create, I still have some content on hand for me to post.

I also want to add in a piece of advice that my parents always told me while I was growing up (and still tell me to this day), “All you have to do is the best you can.” Obviously this was most often told to me referencing school and my grades specifically in math. I wasn’t expected to bring home an A in math. I was just expected to do the absolute best that I was capable of. I think this has helped me SO MUCH in my real life. It relates to my job, my business, and graduate school. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to reach some unattainable standard. You just need to do the best you can- whatever that may be.

I’m not anywhere close to being perfect with my productivity but I feel like in the last year or so of my life, I have finally been able to juggle things without procrastinating and having to shift into overdrive too often. I’m just a few weeks away from finishing up my MBA and pursuing a career, which means I’ll have a full-time job and a business. Things will continue to change but like I said, all that matters is that you’re doing the best you can. I also have a video on my Youtube channel about using my iPad Pro to increase productivity using the Goodnotes application and you can check it out here if you want to hear more of me rambling about this topic. I hope this gave you a little bit of insight on how I balance my responsibilities and if you have any tips or tricks of your own, comment them down below to share with everybody! Until next time, stay bossy y’all.