Juggling it all

 

45 days to go...

Now that we’re getting in to the thick of things, I often wonder how people who have gone before me did it! And go to work or school! And have a life! And sleep!

Right now I am juggling work, church, wedding and job/home hunting all within the next couple of weeks and sometimes it can be overwhelming the amount of things that need to be done. However, here are some things that help me…

1. Learn to say no. This one is particularly hard as I love to get involved in things that I enjoy, but now I just don't have the time to commit to things properly. Until the wedding is over and even post wedding, I need to mindful of the things I say ‘yes’ to. My new family comes first.

2. Go to bed earlier. This is so that I can get up earlier. It's amazing how much stuff you get done in the morning before your day has started. It’s so peaceful as well!

3. Delegate. Our wedding is being held in a city where neither of us live, so we have enlisted the help of some great friends and family to help us with some of the logistics, as they are on ground. In this type of situation you can't be overly 'protective' of things, otherwise nothing will get done. You just need to give clear instructions and trust that people will do what you have asked them to do. So far, so good.

4. Break bigger tasks in smaller bite size chunks. Sometimes a task can seem unmanageable or too big to complete, but by breaking it into smaller chunks it can split over the course of the day/week and it doesn’t seem so humongous. Like now our biggest wedding to do is ‘get out the invitations’. Within that is checking all the addresses and names we have, writing them all out, addressing all the envelopes etc. Smaller tasks of a much bigger task. Even within some of those tasks there are bite size opportunities, making it all more manageable.

5. Stay organised. Google calendar is a God send for me. I put everything that I am doing, even reminders into it and it syncs with my Blackberry so every time I look at my phone I know if there is something I need to do, person to call, bills to pay etc. I also try to plan ahead and block out time to do certain things.

6. Six things. I read a good tip somewhere that every night you should right down the 6 things you MUST get done the next day. The following day you just focus on that list only, giving you a great sense of accomplishment in the process.

Finally, but most importantly - pray and ask God to guide and give wisdom. This post on Who's in charge of your schedule? is a helpful reminder of this.

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Psalms 16:3

What things are you currently juggling and how do you manage it all?

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