And Still Have A Life

I have chronic health issues. I have several. I deal with asthma, constant pain, exhaustion, and many other issues.

And yet, I am a writer. I have to show up and write every day. Or at least five or six days a week.

I am a mother. There is no time off from motherhood. I have a husband to take care of, as well as more animals than I care to admit most days. I love every single one or they would not be here with us; don’t worry. I also have a house to run and manage. Plus, I am a student. I have hobbies, like knitting and reading. I have side hustles, like my painting, my hand-bound books, and things of that nature.

And I have to do all of that, thankfully not alone, every day. How the heck does that happen? How do I get anything done?

Honestly, I do the best I can. I have a bullet journal/planner. I have a list of goals I want to achieve. I decide on a quarterly basis what I want to accomplish. I try to break that down into what I can accomplish during each of the quarters three months.

I look at what I have written out for each month. I decide what week I should put those goals in. Once I reach the weekly planning, which I normally do every Saturday or Sunday for the coming week, I take what I have for the week and divide that out over the days.

Each day, I look at my goals list and I do what I can, based on how I am feeling, how many spoons/how much energy I have, and how much I can literally do before total exhaustion overcomes me.

Some days I can do more than others. Some days, I can’t do anything. Some nights I go to bed beyond tired. Some mornings I wake up more tired than when I went to bed.

What happens to the things on my list that I do not manage to complete before the next day or the next week? They simply go back into rotation for the next week and I will give it another go then. It’s the best that I can do.

I have learned to ask for help when I need it. I have an amazing husband who helps me. I have learned not to fight myself or my body. I have learned to accept what I can and do what I can without feeling guilty about things.

Yes, I still feel guilty about things. Yes, I wish I could manage to do more. But I am still here. I am still getting up every day and doing the best that I can. That honestly is all I can do.