I am burning out. I need to find a balance between home, school, work, other work, kids, cleaning, laundry, relaxation. I can’t find it right now. I can’t find it right now, and I am burning out.
Three times in the past two weeks, I’ve just gone straight to bed as soon as the kids were asleep. Note: that’s unlike me. I like to stay up and do a little something. The problem is that it’s not that I didn’t have anything to do. I have plenty to do, too much to do, and I keep taking on projects. I am hooking a fucking rug as a Christmas present for chrissakes. WHO THE FUCK HAS TIME FOR THAT?!
Part of it is the holidays. Part of it is just the regular ebb and flow of life.
Regardless, I still need to find balance. I need to stop jerking around to each part of my life, trying desperately to complete a task before I am pulled away again. I should be doing other things than blogging right now but I’m exploding. I need to get some of this out.
I need to breathe. I don’t feel like I have time to breathe. And when I find time, I don’t feel like I have the energy.
How do you do it? How do you balance? What do you have going on in your life? Write me a book in the comments, I don’t care. I want it. I need to know how you’re managing. Or not managing. I don’t want to be alone in this struggle.
I don’t know, honey.
I don’t have anywhere NEAR the balls in the air you do, and I still struggle some days. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone and that I love you to the moon and back.
xoxo
Chibi Jeebs´s last blog ..Oh, my aching pride!
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Hugs and more hugs, love!! Today?? I’m barely surviving. There are piles everywhere (really!) of laundry to fold, laundry to wash, toys to put away, books to put away, dishes to wash, gifts to wrap…the list goes on. My head is pounding, my back hurts, my toddler is pushing every button, and I’m (WAY) short on patience.
Yesterday? My house was clean, J was an angel, I was super-motivated, and stuff got done. Today, it’s too much.
Some days, I just let stuff go. I realize my limitations & make myself prioritize: What HAS to get done today? The rest, I let slide until I’m ready again. Usually, it’s just a day or 2, & somehow, when I grant myself that little bit of grace, I can recharge to face the piles again faster.
xoxox
PsychMamma´s last blog ..Easy Christmas Gift Idea
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Basically, this is how I do it:
No matter what or do or how well organized I get, I know for a fact I will never get everything done. Ever. And in fact, I know I’ll probably only get a minority of the things I have to do, done.
So what I do is this: I just do the bits that I A) Want to do, and B) Think will be very important.
I mean, sure, I know there are a lot of important things that you’ve gotta do. But, if you realize that you probably aren’t going to do everything — including the important stuff. So just take a think for, say, tomorrow, pick out all of the stuff that’s like, “If I don’t do this, our lives won’t be destroyed” and go from there!
Now, sure, you’ll probably end up pissing a few people off. And stuff might be late. But heck, you might actually have a life to live, rather than “OHMYGODSOMUCHTODOALLTHETIMEGONNADIE”. ‘cuz Lady? We both know how shit *that* is.
Matt´s last blog ..The Boy: Part Two, Come Back
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((hugs))
I go to bed immediately after Gabriel most nights. Because I am exhausted. Le sigh.
Miss Grace´s last blog ..WE LOVE YOU ANISSA
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I wish I had something brilliant to suggest. I have no kids and I feel exactly the same way. I think, regardless of our situation, we are conditioned to take one as much as we can possibly handle, and then some.
Kellee´s last blog ..2010 Word of the Year: Focus
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First, of all, I find that stress makes me get less done, and makes me tired. When I know I have work to do at night, I tend to feel tired much earlier than I usually would, so I completely understand your early bed times.
Sometimes we have to push ourselves to meet our goals, but you just have to let some of it go sometimes. There is only so much we can do. I know its hard to let go when you have already invested time in something and you are so close to finishing. I can’t say what you could let go of, but I would guess the rug would probably be a good one.
When its all too much, ask yourself what is really important. The answer for most of us would be our family. If it isn’t directly connected to that, you might still try to do it, but at least you know its not the end of the world if it doesn’t get done. Knowing that alone will help.
This month has been busy. Our child care has fallen through a few times and I’m trying to “make hours” at work, which means more work than usual. I’ve had a few stressed out moments, but I have managed by letting a lot of holiday stuff go. I made donations in honor of friends and family instead of worrying about gifts for most people. I did holiday e-cards, instead of paper. I had a few gifts to take care of still, but there will be no wrapping paper in my house this year! We will still spend time together, go ice skating, look at christmas lights, listen to Christmas music, eat some food, and give the baby some presents, but it won’t be picture-perfect.
And tonight, I should be working to “make my hours”. But I am not. I just don’t have it in me. Good night!
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Wow. I can really feel your frustration while reading that. First of all, breathe.
Now then, I don’t have children. So, it’s hard for me to compare lives. I am busy, though. Freelance Graphic Designer, blogger, product reviewer, student, pet mommy (walking of our dogs, yard time, feeding time for 5 pets who eat different foods per their specific needs, etc.). That keeps me busy.
I manage it all by not feeling guilty when I need to set certain tasks aside. I used to feel so guilty if I couldn’t get it all done. Not anymore. The man of the house had a talk with me recently and told me that I need to make sure I am happy and setting aside time for me. So, I do that. If I am a little late on a product review that didn’t actually have a deadline, then I a just am. If I can’t get to the kitchen, because I am working, then I don’t.
I don’t stress over it, either. I get to it all when I get to it all, and I take time to play outside with our dogs everyday and just feel the sun on my skin and breathe in fresh air.
Sara Elizabeth Bonds @ The OmniCouple´s last blog ..Brittany Murphy, Clueless and Girl Interrupted star, Died at the Age of 32!
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You are so, so sincerely NOT alone. Not even a little bit.
I have tried all sorts of tactics to find balance, with limited success. One thing always comes at the expense of another, so I try to compromise. I think you know you’ve achieved a good compromise when no one’s totally happy. Luckily, no one’s ever totally happy in my world, so I’m a blazing success with this strategy.
Amber´s last blog ..The Perfect Organizational System
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Oh honey….I COMPLETELY and utterly understand this. I go through phases where my balance in life is so off, it’s all I can do to stay awake after Jake goes down to sleep. And when the balance is off, everything and everyone in my house suffers a little. My son gets less of a happy mommy with time for him and my SO gets less “us” time because I have no energy to get in the mood.
But it will return. Just think of life as a string on a large tapestry and you are but an ant walking along it. You can’t see that your lone path is apart of a much large whole and that your little string will twist one way but can also twist back.
Hang in there….this will pass! Hugs!
Kekibird´s last blog ..Holiday Tag-a-long
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