How to juggle and stay sane

How to juggle and stay sane

26th May 2023

[The Probe, May 2023]

There is a caveat to this article… I don’t have all the answers. I am very much a work in progress in terms of time management, multi-tasking and having way too many large projects on the go at any one time. For perspective – a recent weekend in April saw me present my inaugural 3-day Endo Roots course followed by my first London Marathon the very next day. On top of all of the usual levels of hectic it was pressure – but fantastic pressure! That’s important for me – I’ll explain.

Stress can be a good thing. Good stress, the kind that leads somewhere and has an outcome, can be energising, motivational and satisfying. And that’s the key to consciously overloading yourself – it all has to have an end-goal. You need to be able to see the reason you’re doing what you are. Paying the bills isn’t enough. There will always be bills to pay. 

The main questions I ask myself before I start anything significant are:

• Why am I doing this – what’s the outcome?
• Does it serve me, my family, my health, my career?
• Does this make sense within the context of my current commitments?
• Is this important – if I don’t do it, will it matter, will I care?
• Do I want to do it: does it give me a sense of excitement or anticipation?
• What is the end goal?
• When does it end?

Once I have squared all of those things in my mind (and with my supportive and wonderful wife Simrith) I plan the time as far as possible with the clear understanding that sometimes there will be bottlenecks and extra-long days. 

If my additional projects didn’t have a finish line it would create the wrong kind of pressure – an unending bleakness that would remove most of the positives. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of day-to-day, repetitive things that make up the framework of our lives, not everything can be endorphin-based. The kind of juggling I’m referring to are the extra things we take on, the ‘what if’ ideas that we want to explore to see where they lead – to see what we’re capable of. 

I talk often of Kaizen theory – the need to improve continuously and incrementally. A lot of the additional, positive pressure I create stems from this. I regularly pursue personal challenges that are based around health and fitness, home and family, career and education – all in the name of growth. 

My three top tips for juggling lots of things are:

1. Understand why you are setting yourself goals and remind yourself often
2. Factor in breaks, don’t work on projects indefinitely
3. Review and assess – what pleases you, what serves you, what can you discard?

A reflective end note… I like to run. I like the discipline and being up early in the quiet streets of London. Completing the London Marathon ticked lots of boxes – I got time to think, I improved my fitness, I raised funds for a charity that is close to my heart, I felt a sense of achievement. However, I won’t be running one again for a while. It’s good to know when to stop, rest and regroup before charging off on the next adventure, whatever that might be.

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