Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil—Ephesians 5:15-16
The art of juggling has always fascinated me. It takes masterful coordination, balance, and focus to do it well. Years ago, I visited Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. They had a juggler performing center stage. I was mesmerized as he threw several different items high into the air—one after another after another. He started with fruit, moved on to lethally sharp knives, and ended with lit torches.
Can you imagine the number of injuries (and near-death experiences) he sustained during the process of perfecting his craft?
Life for many women is a juggling act. And there may be times when everything you’re juggling feels as if it’s smothering your joy.
Whether you work outside the house or are blessed to be a stay-at-home mom the number of daily duties is staggering. In fact, it’s estimated that if housewives were paid their worth, they’d be making anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 a year (and that’s a low estimate).
We have a lot of proverbial balls to keep in the air and can easily get overwhelmed and discouraged when we inevitably drop one or two. Because we will at some point fail. We’re not perfect.
So, what does this have to do with eating elephants?
Multi-tasking is in our DNA. Generally speaking, women are not as good as men at compartmentalizing. Believe me, I would love to have little mental boxes in my head to tuck away everything except what I want to work on in the moment.
This is a bit random, but I’ll share it anyway: Did you know men even have a nothing box? So, when you ask your husband what he’s thinking, and he says, “Nothing,” don’t assume he’s lying. He very well could be thinking of absolutely nothing. Wouldn’t you love to shift your mind into oblivion now and then?
Okay, back on track.
Like many of you, I’ve gotten so used to juggling all my tasks, I never considered that a change in strategy might be a better approach. My little ones are grown and gone, so now I’m only raising books, my husband (only half kidding), and one small Maltese named Casper. However, the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know. This doesn’t sit well with my type A personality.
I’ve always divided my work into two categories—writing and everything else. That means my mornings (which is when my brain tends to fire on all its cylinders) has been set apart for writing and the afternoons filled up with marketing, blog posts, newsletters, etc.
But now I also have the added responsibility of self-publishing, which is daunting. I must learn how to format all those (fourteen) previously published books, assign ISBN numbers to each version of each book, and get them uploaded onto Amazon come March.
The learning curve is high. The process of juggling them all is sucking the joy out of me and mucking up my creative flow. No flow, no writing. No writing, no point to any of this.
My challenge may not be yours, but I’m sure you are dealing with your own imperfect juggling act. We all have things weighing us down, whether it’s a career, raising your kids, running a household, trying to balance a home life with a work life, a difficult marriage or challenging children, or ________ (fill in the blank).
For weeks I’ve been praying for the Lord to guide my steps and time, infuse me with some creative inspiration, and help me to tackle each of these mind-boggling projects in a timely fashion.
What He laid on my heart after praying in the wee hours of the morning was so simple, that I’m almost embarrassed to share it.
First things, first. Yes, that was the extent of what I heard.
But it was enough. I realized the key is to list everything I need to do and then prioritize them. I have to put all my efforts into the most important task first. Once that’s completed, move to the second, then the third, and so on.
For me, it was finishing the edits on Train-Wrecked Hearts so I could get the ARC to my Street Team. Next, it was digging into that formatting program so I will be prepared to relaunch all of those previously mentioned books under my new imprint, Cross Roads Publishing. Third, it’s finishing this year’s Christmas novella and jumping into Book 2 of the Norfolk Southern Series.
I will be a much more effective and creative writer when these burdensome tasks no longer weigh me down.
What’s on your list? Maybe it’s paying off debt or finishing a college degree. It could be organizing your house or writing a book. It doesn’t matter what tasks await you, this may be the strategy you’re seeking.
Obviously, we need to juggle daily chores such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, paying bills, running the kids around, etc. But we all have burdens that drag us down, and rather than deal with them, we put them off. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t preying on our minds and keeping us off-center.
One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching middle school was trying to make my students understand the concept of delayed gratification. When they put off their homework because it was too daunting or they preferred to watch television or hang out with their friends, they paid the price the next day.
It becomes a much larger issue when we do the same as adults. I cannot function well with a burden on my heart and in my head whether it’s an unpleasant chore or an unresolved issue with another person.
How do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time.
We do not have to juggle everything at once. It’s not only exhausting, but it can be ineffective. When I had all I needed to learn poking at me while trying to write, my word count was abysmal.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It might be time to shake up your routine and see if it doesn’t lighten your load. One small bite at a time.
