You Can’t Do It All
The lesson I’m trying to learn and embrace this December
I haven’t been on Medium much, and I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like to. And it isn’t writers’ block that’s holding me back.
It’s time — and time management. Maybe mine’s not the best, and I think we can all be a little more productive than we are in reality.
But my December has been jam-packed with: a full-time job, finals week at school and seeing my friends before they go home, moving apartments, holiday shopping and so. much. reading!
Take a look at this brief excerpt from one of my previous articles:
“I treat my New Year’s Resolutions like a marathon. I start out hot in the begin. Strong, willing, determined. I’m at the gym at 6:30 am, I’m off the coffee and I’m eating healthy.
And then the clock strikes midnight on January 31st and I hit the middle of my marathon (1/12 of the way in, you know how it is) and my pace slows way down. I still go to the gym, it’s just at 11 am on the occasional Saturday.
But then, much like the tail end of a marathon, I suddenly get a second wind. It happens about this time of year (it happened to me today) when I suddenly snap into it and say “I’m accomplishing this.”
If you read that article (huge thank you to everyone who did), you know that my New Year’s Resolution for 2018 was to read 52 books in 52 weeks. You also know that on November 14th, I was on book 37.
It’s now nearly one month later, and I’m on book 43! I have 18 days and 13 books to go.
I’m so determined to hit 52, but I’ve also slowly accepted the fact that it’s okay if I don’t. I can’t do everything I want to at once — I just can’t juggle that many eggs. And I can’t focus on just one thing — not all of my eggs will fit in one basket. And that’s okay.
I used to think I could juggle a ton of eggs and have them land in each of their individual baskets perfectly, without a break.
That’s not my best analogy, but this crazy month of constant reading has made me wonder why I ever thought I could do that. I’ve never been able to literally juggle at any point in my life (I’m not very coordinated).
And I can try again next year to hit 52 books in 52 weeks, having a better understanding of the pace I need to take. I’ve learned so many lessons from trying, that it’s okay if I fail. I want to learn how to apply this lesson to many other aspects of my life. Slowly but surely, I’m getting there.
Truth be told, I’ve missed writing on here and engaging with the community. Instead of reading Medium articles from some of my favorite authors, I’ve been picking up my books and reading chapter after chapter. That’s okay, but I need the balance. I love reading other people’s thoughts and creative works, but I want to be creating mine as well.
So part of my 2019 resolutions will be trying to not do it all in every area, and in specific areas as well. Doing it all anywhere or everywhere isn’t beneficial. Practice makes perfect, and so does balance.
Anyway, hopefully, you’ll be seeing more of me on here shortly — articles, and comments!
XO, Hayley
Make it this far? If you did, answer this question in the comments:
What’s your favorite thing (book or article) you’ve read this year? Include a link!
