I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I manage to juggle all that I do and I’ve even had someone request this post so I’m finally getting to doing it! I work two part-time jobs that combine into almost full time so about 24-30+ hours a week, I edit six on average 1K-3K word articles a month for Geeks Under Grace, I write one or two 750-1000 word articles for Geekdom House, manage Facebook and Twitter accounts for Havok Magazine, cook dinner three times a week, blog here three times a week, write, exercise, and manage a social life. This is a lot and I’ve managed to figure out ways of doing it without getting overly stressed.
1.) Schedule – This is the biggest thing. Some people believe that schedules are too rigid but honestly, scheduling has allowed me to have more free time and relax. I plan on the notes app on my phone and with a physical calendar. There are better apps out there like Evernote to do this kind of thing but this is just what works for me. I put big events on my calendar and I usually do a weekly schedule where I give myself 6-10 tasks a day (tasks that will take more than a half an hour) depending on my work hours then 5 little tasks (tasks that take less than a half an hour). So a normal work day for me looks like this:
2.) Prioritize – I cannot tell you how freaking important this is. You feel so much more productive and keep up so many deadlines if you do this. Work is my first priority so I have to bend my schedule around that then next for me are articles, social media managing, registering for events, etc. that are time sensitive. I try to get these done as soon as possible, sometimes I have to delay things like this because of monetary reasons or I have to finish watching a movie or show I’m writing about but if all else possible I get these done. It’s a weight off my chest and it’s a good habit to get into instead of doing something at the last minute.
3.) Communicate with Other Parties Involved – Communication is very important. Letting your at home family/roommates know what you’re basic schedule is very important like for example if you share a car and you need it on a certain day or if you’ve got an awkward parking situation and someone has to move their car for you to get out or if you need to set out important writing time and you don’t want to be interrupted. One example is how I communicate with my GUG writers. We’ve gotten in a good system of them telling me in advance when they’re estimating when they’re going to get a piece to me for editing. That way I can add it to my schedule instead of having to squeeze an extra thing into a day.
4.) Do Things in Advance – If you can do something in advance do it. Don’t leave packing lunches for work till the day of, do it the day before. Schedule blog posts and social media. To help me save time for dinner, I’ll often do my prep (cutting vegetables, marinating meat, measuring out spices) on one day then cook the meal the next.
5.) Multitask Effectively When You Can – “Effectively” is the key word here. You can’t to do two high concentration tasks at the same time but you can do one mindless task and one concentration task at the same time. For example, I fold laundry while I listen to NaturalReader read articles I’m editing to me so I can catch mistakes. I also write blog posts at work on my phone on slow periods when I literally have nothing to do. That’s actually when I wrote this post. It’s way more productive than watching cat videos to pass the time till my next order.
6.) Leave Yourself Room to Breathe – In the midst of all of this don’t forget to schedule relaxation time. I give myself one or two hours before bedtime to do whatever I want whether that be drawing, watching anime, or playing a video game. Something to help me wind down and destress so I’m recharged fully for the next day. I also schedule myself a rest day. Because I work on weekends, that day is Monday. I sleep in and take one day to recharge completely. This helps me keep my mental health in check and keep me from suffering from burnout.
7.) Contingency Plans – Sometimes life happens. You can control everything. Sometimes I have to go overtime at work, sometimes something really unexpected happens socially and I have to take time to recover or help someone else, sometimes it rains and I can’t take my nightly walk. I can go on. This is when prioritizing comes in. I often will have to move items on my schedule to the next day or rearrange my schedule more drastically. This is when I try to work on things that I know that need to get done soon even if it’s just a little bit. Like instead of writing a whole Geekdom House article, I’ll write 250 words. I’ll say I’ll go through my emails for ten minutes instead of doing all of them. I’ll edit half of a GUG review instead of all of it. I don’t want my schedule to take precedence over the needs of my family and my own healthy wellbeing.
Conclusion – Life is crazy like fire, but these tips help me find a little more order and my life. Go juggle your life as epically as Dustfinger!
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