How I learned to balance the different aspects of my life
I have been asked many times how I balance life as a wife, mother, doctor and blogger/content creator. Honestly, it wasn’t easy at first and I will be lying if I make it appear simpler than it really is. It took a lot of effort on my part, scheduling and time management. It also took some trial and error to learn what works for me.
As I type the draft for this blogpost on my phone, I am in my bed awake at 11:45pm while my husband and son sleep. I worked back to back night shifts for the past 2 nights and only slept 2 hours this morning, took care of my son and then went to a last minute dinner with my girlfriends tonight which I actually just arrived home from 1 hour ago. In fact, I came up with the idea for this blog post and wrote down the 5 main points while in the car on the way to the dinner.
To top it all off, tomorrow I’m working a double shift at work which includes another night shift. After which I plan to transfer this draft to my laptop, edit it and make this blogpost live after my post-night shift nap, a postgraduate zoom class and a few zoom meetings. This is just an example of how crazy trying to fit everything into my schedule can get sometimes.
With all the things I already have on my plate, I even added a few things this year including a postgraduate program and 3 other things that I will disclose to you guys later this year if all goes well. How am I going to make it through the year? By implementing all the lessons I learned about balancing my life from the previous year.
1) Stop procrastinating
The first thing I quickly learned when it comes to balancing all the things in my life is to stop procrastinating. I admit that I am a procrastinator and it was hard to break that habit. I started setting earlier deadlines for myself for certain tasks. If I have a blog post planned in a week’s time, I set the deadline in my mind and on my calendar a few days earlier. It forces me to get started earlier on the task because I have forced myself into thinking the deadline for completion of the task is earlier than it really is.
2) Keep a schedule of everything
I schedule every single thing, even writing blogposts, studying for my postgraduate program, my selfcare routine, creating photos and videos for my content creation, dates with hubby or dinner with my girls. Of course it all depends on my shifts at work, which vary day by day with no fixed pattern. Once I get my roster for work, I sit down and write down everything I need to get done for the month and schedule what days and times I will allot to doing whatever task. Of course some things are unpredictable, so I leave gaps here and there and allow myself to be fairly flexible if I have to be.
3) Remember to take breaks
I am not an energizer bunny that can keep going on and on and I have to keep reminding myself of that. Hence I make it a priority to schedule my relaxation days where I do my self care routines and recharge. It makes no sense running on a low battery for a prolonged period of time and then expect to get much tasks effectively done. Choose a day in your busy schedule to make yourself a priority and rest physically and mentally.
4) Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing
What I mean by this is any time I feel like giving up, I remind myself of why I am doing what I’m doing in the first place. For example, I study so hard so I can be a better doctor. I take the extra time to read to my son and play learning games with him because I want him to have a good start in life. I write blogposts and create content on my Instagram because it has been my creative escape, as well as my way of dealing with my anxiety. Once I remind myself of the reason for the task, it helps me keep going and push to get them done.
5) Don’t neglect what is most important
Last but not the least, don’t forget what is most important to you. Don’t neglect what you value most in life. For me it is my family. And in trying to balance all the different aspects of my life, I keep reminding myself to not neglect my family. They trump everything else and if I find the scale is being tipped too far away from what matters, it is time to readjust the scale, alter the schedule and rethink things.
It is now 12:30am and I have a long day ahead of me. It is time to get some shut eye for a few hours and wake up for work this morning. I hope this blogpost has been of some help to you and I hope you enjoyed the read.
Till next time.
Living Life With Obosa 