Balance

I don’t normally make these types of personal posts, but I’ve been a little overwhelmed these past few weeks. A good kind of overwhelmed. I have a new job, new (lengthy!) commute, a few new people in my life and a ton of opportunities coming at me, but I feel like I’m failing at times trying to balance everything. Juggling a full-time job, a social life and a blog while having a ~3 hour round-trip commute to work each day hasn’t been the easiest to manage. However, these are a few things I’m starting to learn:

• Learn how to say “no”: I’m a “yes” girl. This is one of my best and worst qualities. I’m a people pleaser, so often times I will say yes to that blogging event, I will say yes to happy hour, I will drive you to that meeting, and you will rarely hear me decline anything. However, with everything that has been happening these last few weeks, I’m finally starting to learn how to just say no for my sanity. And you know what? I feel so much better. I’m not trying to be anti-social, and I do pick and choose what events I should attend and when I should go out with my friends. However, my needs do come first, and I need to stop doing crazy things like driving 30+ miles for a 2-hour event on a weekday. No thanks. Sleep is better.
• “Me time” is important: I’ve come to the conclusion that I need at least three nights a week where I do absolutely nothing other than Netflix and lounge in bed. No emails. No social media. Nada. Just relax and focus on myself. Sometimes this happens on a Tuesday and sometimes this happens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’m young and I’ve gotten a lot of flack for not going out every single weekend, but honestly? I don’t care. I’m an exhausted human being and I like lounging, okay?
• Always be grateful: As much as I complain about my commute or how tired I am, I try to take a step back and just appreciate all of the awesome opportunities and people I have in my life. I saw a quote on Instagram saying to stop complaining about how “busy” you are. If being busy is the worst thing you have going on in life, then you’re a pretty privileged individual. I wouldn’t trade this hectic life for anything else in the world.