My friends are basically the best and keep giving me post ideas. A few weeks ago I was facetiming with a friend and she was telling me about how she listens to podcasts all the time. I’ve heard of it before but never struck any interest. But, as she kept talking about how she did everything while listening to other people’s rambles or conversations, I started getting intrigued. And, like the good researcher and living person that I am, I ventured off and started listening to, the always amazing, Leandra Medine’s Monocycle.
For those of you out of the loop, podcasts are digital audio files, normally compiled in series, basically about everything. Leandra talks about her life in New York City, her personal experiences (most recently she’s going through IVF to try and get pregnant) and I automatically fell in love with it. I feel like I have epiphanies while she talks about relatable matters and how real life really is – no pun intended. One of the episodes was about getting our shit together, which really hit close to home.
I just recently started working in NYC, here nonetheless, and my life has been a complete rollercoaster. While I actually appreciate being busier than ever, I’ve also been getting more easily burnt out, tired and lacking creativity – which comes with the territory of having a more-or-less fixed scheduled and due dates. Yesterday, for example, I was having one of those days where nothing seems to come out right and you’re bound to screw up at some point. I left a little bit earlier than usual and came home to clean the apartment – didn’t feel like exercising either.
I feel like I’m having trouble getting used to having two very important jobs and, ultimately, getting my shit together. Basically, I want it all and right now (and don’t we all?), I want to have the job, exercise, eat healthy, spend time with my husband, spend time with my friends, go out, go to the beach or pool, go out to dinner and still come home with energy left to cook, clean, go grocery shopping. We all end up managing, somehow, but for the past two months, that’s all I’ve been doing.
I’m still at awe that I got such an awesome gig and how much I’m learning and how amazing-cool-awesome of an experience it has been. But it’s tough trying to do it all, 6AM wake-up calls, going to sleep at 10PM, having no energy to think about meal prepping so eating a lot of grilled cheeses, and the damages showing up. My skin is a mess, my schedules are weird and all I want to do is get my shit together.
So, this past week, I started to write down everything I wanted to accomplish during the day, prioritizing and not feeling guilty if my to-do list wasn’t all checked at the end of the day. I didn’t feel guilty about not exercising this or that day, I didn’t mind whisking up a quick salad instead of something more elaborate, and I forgave myself for not having that much time to spend with M. It’s all about knowing your worth, what you’re working towards and how fulfilling it’s going to make you feel. The week went by very slowly, but I’m reaching Friday with a smile on my face, knowing I did the best I could and results were still obtained.
The trick to pull your shit together is to find a way of channeling all you want to do, get organized and avoid procrastinating. I would love to know if you’re dealing with something similar or have gone through this.