namaste.

Welp, after taking two sick days and endless amounts of DayQuil, I think I’m feeling better. But that could also just be the cold medicine talking. Which reminds me, don’t judge this post too harshly, I’m not quite all here.

I mentioned earlier this week that I feel burnt out and that I’ve officially exhausted myself. It’s true. Between a full-time job, my tutoring gig, this blog and trying to be a wife and friend, it’s a lot to juggle. I’m not coming here to complain or to seek sympathy, rather I’m using it as an opportunity to learn. Because of this blog, I really have to set priorities and boundaries.

Priorities in life are often changing. Trust me, my 23-year-old self would take one look at my normal Saturday plans and judge. But because our weeks are so chaotic, Saturdays are time for my husband and me to unplug from the world and to simply enjoy spending time together. Of course, events come up and life happens, but we try our absolute best to commit to Saturdays together. It’s one thing that has truly kept me sane. I’ll go ahead and skip the tiny detail that now college football is on and “our” Saturdays now mean me, my husband and our TV.

It’s hard to sit here and say I’m great at prioritizing because it’s often a struggle. As a people pleaser, I want to say yes to everything and make everyone happy. But when that happens, I’m often not prioritizing someone truly important, myself. And that’s when I feel my most bogged-down. When I don’t have any “me” time.

I’m sort of an introverted extrovert. I enjoy meeting new people and I love making new connections, but I am super into having my own time and space to chill and zone out. I need “me time” to recharge. I used to have that time in the morning (a full-on post about that later) and I’d wake up a good 45 minutes early to watch tv and chill out before getting ready for the day. Now, that time has been replaced with blogging time. And while I love blogging, it takes brain power and it’s most certainly not zone-out time.

So what’s my plan for moving forward? Quality over quantity. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this process it’s that when I do have that free hour, I need to use it wisely. Just yesterday I took myself to Yamato courtesy of Raise to get a massage for all the aches my body was feeling. A little treat was necessary after being sick and feeling blah. *Psst: treat yourself to $20 off your first gift card over at Raise using this link and code CHRISTINE20… #treatyoself.

The other half of my plan is to create better boundaries.  When I am with my family/friends/husband, I want to be totally there. It’s can be tempting to check up on social media and email, but by carving out specific hours for each, I hope to be present and fully enjoy the time spent with the people who really care and support me.

So there you have it. I know we’re all busy and that life is hectic so tell me, how do you keep it all from crashing down? What’s your secret to staying happy? Let me know in the comments below!