The Legit Way to Get It All Done

“How do you get it all done?”

By far, that’s the question I get asked most often from readers and friends.

First and most importantly, I don’t. Neither do any of us. Seriously. Though coffee helps. The list is always growing, life is always moving, and new things are always happening.

It’s funny to think about my life seven or eight years ago when I felt ultra busy. And, that was before two kids, owning a business AND this blog. (Seriously, what was I thinking?!).

Ready for some earth shattering, semi-completely obvious yet maybe just a tiny-bit genius advice to help you better utilize your time and get more done?

Try this now

PRIORITIZE: Truth, I’m not doing everything. I create a to-do list every single day, highlight the most urgent items and work my way through. It’s impossible to do everything — please don’t try or assume anyone is (even if social media leads you to think otherwise); rather focus on what needs to get done first. If it’s lower on your list, it can likely wait another day, or two.

DELEGATE: You need a team, a community! Each of us do. I used to seriously suck at asking for help or to delegate a task I could do on my own (if time could stop). Ladies, there is no medal for suffering in silence and exhaustion while you try to do more than one human is capable of. If someone asks to help, say yes. And if they don’t, ask them. I ask my husband, our nanny, friends, whoever I can wrangle when I need to. In a heartbeat, it’s amazing to see my team rally, and they know I’m equally there for them. There are only so many hours in the day and only one of me and you. We have to support each other.

SAY NO. I say jokingly, though I’m super serious, that 2016 was my “year of no!” LOL, sounds a little b*tchy but I far too often found myself in previous years regretting something I said yes to… professionally, personally and even with community involvement. So I removed myself from three nonprofit Boards, limited myself to going out weeknights to two nights max (unless there are work commitments), and found other ways to say no when I’d default to yes. You know the secret about saying no? Saying no means you are really saying yes to something or someone else. That’s huge you guys, and for me, it typically meant saying yes to my family. If you get that immediate gut feeling like you should say no, do it.

 

That’s it! I still need to control mindless social media time, and my love for evening reality TV and juicy dramas… because downtime, and hey, something needs to go with that glass of wine.

Just remember that perception is not reality. It might look like I’m accomplishing so much, or more than you think you can, but it’s just about how each of us allocate our time, how we prioritize, delegate what we can, and say no to the rest. The rest can wait, or is unimportant.

If you’re a mom feeling like she’s treading water when that Pinterest mom is bringing in the gorgeous cupcake tower (for the record, I’m totally an Amazon Prime mom) give yourself a break, and remember what we tell our kids: stop comparing. Comparison is the thief of joy, and there are way too many joyful moments among the trying to ‘accomplish all the things’… it’s necessary to stop, give yourself a break and enjoy what matters.

 

If and when don’t get it all done, above all else give yourself permission to be OK with that. There’s always tomorrow, and there will always be more to do. There’s no winning in having the busiest life.