How to Deal with A Large Workload as a Mom Without Getting Overwhelmed; Life Update
Now I've been a little MIA lately and I apologize for that. The last week of June I decided to take a week off from work in order to get two of my classes finished up and two more started. For those of you who are maybe new here, I am a full-time online student and am pursuing a Bachelor's in English. For a quick minute I was going to have four classes all at once and knowing that that was absolutely exhausting I put in to have the week off to manage everything. However, it has taken me longer than expected to get back on track with blogging, but at last, here we are! My website deleted the initial draft of this blog (which was immensely discouraging) so I'm starting back about a week later than I hoped. Regardless, here's what I've been up to for the past few weeks:
Friends of ours own a pizzeria downtown and have been trying ever since they purchased the business to offer inside seating. However, their landlord refused to sell the building to them or rent the other side of the building which was completely unoccupied (and still is). Discouraged, they looked for other avenues and were able to purchase another building a little ways down the street that was being sold. The building was previously a General Store and Inn, and although the General Store is no longer in business, our friends decided to keep the inn up and running. They are moving their pizzeria downstairs in the previous store part hopefully sometime at the beginning of next year. All that to say, my husband had mentioned something to them about needing an inn manager and after our friends thought about it, they realized that they wanted more than that too. They came back to my husband and asked him if I would be willing to manage scheduling and booking, coordinating housekeeping, and their Social Media. Desperate to have a backup from my other job I accepted and have been working with them ever since. This all happened the last week of June so everything since then has been me figuring things out, scheduling time to go to the inn to take pictures, and getting all the info transferred over. I'm very pleased with this new job and I'm really excited to be getting this sort of experience. But that's why I've been ghosting everyone lately so I apologize for that. I'm hoping now that I'm in the swing of things I can pick back up blogging, even if it's only once a week. So these next few weeks might be rocky. Throughout this whole process, there were a couple of times when I was overwhelmed by everything going on and unsure how I could get it all done. That being said, there were a couple of things that really helped me out that I thought I would share so that if anyone else is feeling overwhelmed they can apply these methods to their busy schedules and hopefully also get some relief.
1. Get Sleep
The old adage about not having enough time is to just stay up late and get it done, which is what I found myself doing midway through my week "off." I was worried about getting my classes finished and the others started before the end of the week and I felt like I was drowning for time. Desperately I started to go to bed later and later each night while getting up each morning at the same time (I have an eight-month-old and she controls how long I get to sleep in). Needless to say, by the midpoint of that week I was burnt out, completely exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally. I basically had a bit of a mental breakdown and was having trouble resting when it came time to finally put the work away. It started becoming really hard to focus and because I wasn't on top of things, my daughter started having trouble with her naps and bedtime. All around, it was just bad, and all because I decided to push it when it came to sleep. When I finally slowed down and forced myself to go to sleep, I instantly saw improvement. It wasn't easy at first with my mind being super awake, but I forced myself to lie down after my daughter went to sleep and go to bed. I put aside all the things I "had" to get done that evening and forced myself to close my eyes and sleep. And, after a while, it worked. I probably stared up at the ceiling for an hour, but it was better than getting overtired and not being able to sleep which is what I had been doing each night before that. Eventually, each night got better and better and I started having more energy and motivation to get things done. This really helped me push through the last few days of the week and get my classes completely finished and ahead in the other two. Bottom line, if you want to get things done you have to get some sleep. I find that when I'm super overwhelmed and have a lot going on it can be hard to actually fall asleep when I have the chance, but you have to sort of force yourself to because sleep is a necessity for you. So, my goal for the day, get to bed before eleven.
2. Set Aside Some Time to Work on the Things that Require Your Time and Attention
Out of everything that happened over the past three weeks, this was probably the best decision I could have made in order to actually accomplish what I needed to get done. I have this sort of idea that I can work really hard and get it all done in a short amount of time and the reality is some things just take time. The week I was out catching up on schoolwork I realized just how long some of my assignments take. I had wondered for weeks why I couldn't get just a little bit ahead in my assignments, and it took until I had a whole week specifically dedicated to schoolwork that I realized that it took me HOURS to get assignments done. I think it was a really good reality check. Often I stay up late, get up early, or multitask and think that things don't take as long as they do. But then I find myself pushing deadlines and getting overwhelmed. I realized through this experience that I have to take time to do the things that take time. For me, that might look like taking a day or two off, postponing blog posts, or even asking for help. I had so many lunches and days out with girlfriends scheduled the week I was off, but as soon as I realized how long school took, I decided to cancel all that. Sometimes you need to be realistic with yourself and really estimate how long it is going to take you to work on something. Then, you need to make time for it, and sometimes that means putting other things on the back burner.
3. Cut the Social Media
If you find yourself lacking time in your busy schedule check your social media use. This can very quickly become a huge time sucker if you're not careful, especially when you are already stressed out and overwhelmed. For me, social media becomes my "decompression" when I'm stressed, so I'll find myself just trying to zone out by scrolling, and that can certainly take up more of my time than I hoped. This was particularly true for the evening. So after our daughter went to bed and I was getting ready for bed I wanted to "decompress" because I was so stressed and focused on work. I did so by scrolling or watching shorts on YouTube. However, it ended up having a very negative effect. Not only did it not actually help to shut my brain off for sleep, but I also started going to bed later and later and feeling like crap. It took more and more time each evening for me to have proper "me time" by scrolling so my screen time was steadily going up. When I realized this had a direct correlation to my poor sleep, I decided to put the phone away. I still needed to decompress for the evening, so instead I forced myself to read a chapter (or half of a chapter) of a book, and this had tremendous effects without the blue light. Also, if it's been a while since you've read anything, reading can actually really make you tired so if you are already struggling with sleep this just might be the solution for you! So cutting out social media in the evenings definitely had a positive effect on my output, but what about during the day? I'm sure you have at least fallen prey to this habit once or twice in your life, but a lot of the time if you are trying to get into something that you really have to focus on, it can be really hard and you can find yourself on your phone. I definitely did this, and not only did it waste time, but it messed up my focus each time I went to return to my work. What I found is that if you put the phone away for a set amount of time while you go to work on something, your output can be so much higher, plus you will get so much more done than having to stop, scroll for a minute or two, and then focus back on work. So if you're feeling pressed for time, maybe consider the Social Media use in your life.
4. Fifteen-Minute Clutter Clean-Up
This isn't a necessity for everyone, however, most people can focus better and longer in a clean and organized environment. But wait! You are already super busy and stressed how on earth are you going to clean the whole house in order to have a productive workspace? Well, I'm not suggesting cleaning the whole house, but I am suggesting just putting aside fifteen minutes a day (literally just that nothing more) to tidy. This can be a thorough tidying or just picking up the mess off the floor. For me, vacuuming our living room really helps clear my mind. Whatever it is, tackle that one little thing for just fifteen minutes, set the timer even, and do a quick sweep through some of the clutter. It will help give you a mini reset every day to start work and will help you not have to worry about a growing mess all around you. environment
5. Get a Shower In
Haha, probably an obvious one, but make sure you get a shower in. All of these tips probably sound like self-care tips to you, but here's the thing: you are doing the work, you're the one who's going to get run down. When we use our car what do we do? We put gas and oil in it, so why aren't you going to do what you need to do for yourself in order to survive this busy season in your life? So with that, get a shower. I don't know about you, but I become less productive throughout the day, and NOT because I am a morning person. I start to feel sweaty, tired, and groggy, and when I am being weighed down by that sort of feeling it makes it hard for me to focus on work. Now for me specifically that happens at about three in the afternoon because my husband and I are lacking AC (I know tragic). However, for some people, this might be first thing in the morning. I am typically that way when I have AC. So for me, a good reset to start the day (much like a fifteen-minute clean-up) is a shower. Showers can help wake you up in the morning and make you feel energized and refreshed. So I suggest if you struggle getting started in the morning get a shower in. On the flip side, if you struggle with decompressing for the evening, after work, and know you have housework, cleaning, and anything else to do once you home, a shower after work can really help with that as well. It can be a good marker to end your work day and start your day at home. Either way, a shower can be a great inclusion to your day and can help give your mind a quick reset in order to jump into the next thing: whether that's the next day, the next evening, or the next night of sleep.
6. Ask for Help
So I am probably the biggest hypocrite Sometimes when it comes to telling people to ask other people for help, but it really does help. Sometimes, whether it's watching the kids for an hour, asking your partner to leave work early, or just asking for an extension at work or school you just need to ask for help. No one has it all together and it's okay to use your community sometimes. For example, I've been going over to my in-laws quite a bit because I know that my daughter will have a blast playing with her aunt and grandma and I can sit in cool air conditioning and not have to worry about everything going on at my house. Sometimes I bring work, and that's okay. It's not something I prefer, and I often don't like asking for help, but here's the thing. There are so many people who want to help and if you have that as an option please do not take that for granted. Let your family, friends, and community help you.
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Thank you so much for reading till the end, your support means the world to me. Feel free to follow me on Social Media where I host more content just like this! You all are amazing and I hope you have a blessed day! Thanks!
