Prioritization
As many of you know already know, I work full-time in addition to running my blog. I started my blog as a way to learn about the digital space, express myself creatively (although I hate the overused term “creative outlet”), and connect with like-minded individuals through this incredible community. It’s become a hobby that I genuinely enjoy and have learned an immense amount from.
As my blog has evolved over the past year, I’ve begun to take on more projects and collaborations. Somewhere along the way, what used to be a passion project started to toe the line of feeling like extra work, and I had to re-evaluate my relationship with blogging and learn how to prioritize. It’s so easy to build up stress and negativity in our minds, that something I often tell myself is to take a step back when things begin to feel like too much to handle. Because remember, stress is bad, bad, BAD.
How to Prioritize Your Time
There really are only so many hours in a day (you have as many hours in a day as Beyonce ; )) and I often get asked how I’m able to blog as much and as consistently as I do. The truth is, it’s all about prioritization, which truthfully means sacrifice. You can’t have it all, so pick and choose what matters. Lately, I’ve been all about giving fewer f*cks and only giving one when it matters. This book has been a recent favorite, and there is MUCH more to come on the many gems inside.
Basically, we all have limited time and energy to spend and give. Figuring out what matters to YOU and how to prioritize how you spend your time is everything. It took a long time to really figure out what was most important to me. Here’s what I’ve learned to prioritize:
Your health.
I feel my best when I get enough sleep, eat right, and exercise consistently. When one of these things falls out of sync, I feel sluggish and weak – and get sick way more easily. I function best mentally, physically, and emotionally if I’m well rested – because of this, I do my best to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. I really think getting enough sleep is one of the best things we can do for our bodies, and something many people neglect to do.
As far as diet goes, I don’t do anything crazy, but I do notice a difference in my energy levels and mood when I stick to clean, unprocessed foods – think lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats (AVOCADO, eggs, salmon, nuts), lean proteins, and whole grains. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sugar fiend and love eating out, but in moderation. I also try to stay away from alcohol when I can, because if there’s a major productivity killer, it’s booze.
Finally, exercise. I haven’t always loved to exercise and for a long time avoided the gym like the plague. Over the years I’ve come to love being active and when I’m having a bad day or feeling stressed, nothing boosts my mood more than a good workout (current faves: Barry’s Bootcamp and yoga at Y7).
How you spend your time.
Time is money. I’m still trying to figure out how to prioritize daily tasks and commitments. My main goal is always to work smarter, not harder. I think it’s totally okay to outsource tasks if they take up time that would be better spent elsewhere. For example, if you absolutely hate cleaning, see if you can make room in your budget for a maid. If doing your hair takes hours every week, get a blowout and use that time to work. Make a list of to-do’s and rank them in order of urgency and importance. Figure out how to make time for the ones that matter. Doing this made me realize how many the things that were making me “so busy” were actually pointless errands that I could outsource, streamline, or batch into a couple hours over a weekend to be more efficient.
And as my fellow bloggers know, there is so much time and hard work that goes into blogging. With limited time, what is the best thing to focus on?? Since I only have so many hours to dedicate to my blog after work, I’ve made a point to shift my focus to shoots and content creation on the weekend. And networking during the week when I can. I don’t make it to every event and that’s fine, there will always be another one : ).
Your relationships.
Just as important as how you spend your time, is who you spend your time with. It’s important to surround yourself with people that not only support you and lift you up but also aren’t afraid to keep it real with you. I think we can all agree that toxic and negative relationships are harmful and we’d be better off without them. Stop wasting your time and energy on people that bring you down and give more to those that are there for you and believe in you. It’ll make a world of a difference.
I noticed myself feeling a bit of negativity lately and had to remind myself on the importance of keeping a positive perspective and not complaining. At the end of the day, a lot of our problems are “first world problems” that really are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It’s hard to keep that in mind when we’re constantly swimming in social media and images of how perfect other people’s lives are. But the truth is NO ONE is perfect and EVERYONE has problems. You’d be amazed at how people with seemingly perfect lives can be incredibly unhappy with their situation.
It seems like everyone is so busy these days, so I’d love to hear your thoughts – how do you prioritize and stay afloat?
xx, Amy
jacket: similar | romper: band of gypsies
choker: similar | boots: stuart weitzman
photos: ryan chua
Love this outfit babe!! So nice meeting you at Create & Cultivate!! <3 I'm seriously amazed at how you manage to balance a full-time job and doing everything you do for your blog! You're killing the game <3
XO, Jessi
http://www.mywhitet.com/10-items-you-need-to-style-your-desk-space/
Loved meeting you and getting to know you better, Jessi! Your words mean the world to me – you’ve been one of my biggest sources of inspiration from the beginning, and living proof that the hustle and hard work can pay off. You deserve all of your success and more, and I can’t wait to see what’s next to come for you. Hope to see you very, very soon! xx
Love this look, obsessed with your coat!
xo.
http://www.itswhatsin.com
Really motivating post! I’m a new blogger in LA and I also work full time while starting to blog and it’s great to see this type of perspective now.
Also, Love the choker!
Hi Abby, thanks so much for reading, and congrats on your new blog! I’d love to hear how you’re balancing both as well 🙂 xx
Hi lovely,
Congrats, your blog post is featured in Bloggers Issue Magazine
http://www.bloggersissue.com
Thanks for the feature! Can you please correct the author info? : ) xx
This was such a great read, I totally relate to so many of the points you made and have found taking that time to do a self-check is the most important for staying prioritized. Hope youre having a lovely Monday!
– Harleen
http://myeunoia.com
Thank you so much for reading Harleen!! I’m so happy this post resonated with you. Hope you have a wonderful week xx
Totally agree! Prioritization is key! While blogging can be quite stressful sometimes , I do feel like you should do it in your own pace. After all, it’s you being comfortable and beautiful we are interested in following! Hang in there!
xx Margaret
http://www.maleemaleehong.com
Thanks babe! Same to you xx
Woow, this look is amazing! Love the jacket.
http://styleonheels.com/
I love your shoes!!
Hugs<3
http://camillaesi.se
This is such a beautiful look, I’m simply in love with that jacket! Love your style. xx
http://www.aimeroseblog.com
Hi Amy! Well I think that what I needed to read now is this post of yours! I am in the middle of a health crisis which came worse 2 days ago that I gave a big f*uck about a bad behaviour towards me, yet that hadn’t anything to do with me but the other person. That got me sicker! My fiancé was just telling me that I stop giving a f*ck about such situations and there I was, reading at your post! Needless to say I bought the book you are suggesting immediately! I am a positive and organised person in general with well put priorities but lately I needed a big reminder of some things. Daily routine and negativity might bring us down some times but the important thing is to get up and most importantly, to stop giving a f*ck about things that are not important! Thank you so much for this great article!
PS: You look fantastic!!
Stella
http://www.stellaasteria.com
Hi Stella! Can’t wait to hear what you think of the book – hope you enjoy!! I think we can all use a positive reminder every now and then – your fiance sounds like a very smart man and a total keeper! I too was feeling bogged down/sick/negative recently and it really took a bit of a kick in the a** to get my act together and realize I needed stop wasting my time and energy on negative people. Hope you feel better soon and thank you soo much for the thoughtful comment and kind words xx
Love this look, really love the thigh high boots! You look so gorgeous! xo
Daniel x
The Daniel Originals | Instagram: danielpoonvignez
New Post: Simple Outfits – White Tee + Blue Jeans + Sneakers
Your choker is one of the the best I had ever seen!
You look extremely gorgeous!
Liz
http://www.liznroad.com
Thank you for sharing this!!! It’s a much needed reminder for me right now as I feel like I’m going thru this lull of no inspiration and no energy to fuel my blog. Like you, I have a full time job and blogging started out as a hobby. But as my blog ramped up I started feeling like my voice was lost thru all the collaboration and shout out to vendors… And all of a sudden when I don’t have collaborations I’m at a losss for words. I’m just asking myself what happened… it’s such an art to be able to balance “selling” vs just “being you”.
I like your blog. It feels substantial and not just fluffy photos and short sentences. Good job Amy 🙂
Jessica || Cubicle Chic
Hi Jessica! Your comment really means a lot to me – it’s really my goal to post substantive content that resonates with others and hopefully sparks some inspiration : ). I think a lot of people can feel incredibly burned out these days… especially bloggers! Blogging is incredibly time consuming and so much hard work! A big realization I recently had was remembering why I started blogging – FOR FUN. Going back to those roots made me realize that if it was starting to feel like work, it wasn’t right. I feel totally okay now taking my foot off the gas when I need a break and make sure to always make time for myself and my loved ones (preferably social media free!). Another practice that has helped tremendously is gratitude. I think for a long time I viewed working full time as a crutch to the development of my blog, but in reality it’s a gift. I feel extremely fortunate to have a stable, steady job that I love that allows me to blog in my spare time. It’s all about perspective – when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Thanks for stopping by, and hope this sparked some creativity and inspiration within you! xx
super love this look!
carolyn / thedinhreport.blogspot.com
I couldn’t agree more on all of these thoughts, especially focusing on yourself and stopping the comparison it is essential! Thank you so much for sharing and I absolutely love your over-knee boots xx
http://www.hairwonderfulday.com
Loved this post!! Been meaning to check it out, and here I am, practically middle of the night catching up! I almost feel like I wrote this post myself because everything you said checks off. The eating, the working, the exercise, the stress! Goodness, has blogging been stressful! But, we need to realize that prioritization is the key to happiness and success! You can’t win it all, but i’ve been told, soon enough! Keeping positive and focusing on growing is the biggest key factor right now, after health of course!! And perhaps I should take note and go to sleep! I ate something that didn’t align well with my tummy (I rarely eat unhealthy) and here I am awake, but at least being productive, lol 😉 Thank you for sharing babe!
xo, Adelina
http://www.thecharmingolive.com
I’m totally with you! It is so important to plan ahead your day and prioritise all the tasks, especially when you have to balance between blogging and a day time job. I’m on the same boat like you are and my day time job is quite demanding. I start working at 7am and finish around 7-8pm every day! Every morning, when i’m in my shower, my brainstorm all the things I need to do for the day and prioritise them in my head. Most of the time, I probably take most of the items off from my To-Do list. As you’ve mentioned above, there are only so many hours we have everyday and I found it so important not to over commit ourselves, so I won’t ended up stretch ourselves too thing. One of my recent fav books is ‘the essentialism’ by Greg McKeown. I try to only schedule in the important things into my calendar and the less important ones can wait or even let go.
I spend about 1 hour per day on blogging, posting photos, reply comments, etc and mostly during commuting or breakfast time. Photos are taken probably every second week during the weekends. One thing I’m so passionate about is – travelling. On average I have about at least 2 trips a month and I tend to take a lots of the photos during the trips. How many hours do you spend on blogging every day Amy? It’s a been awhile since I follow your blog and I love reading your posts. Instead of the plain writing about fashion outfits, you have a very good content on self-improvements, fitness and health. I will keep being your loyal audience moving forward =)
Xx, Jessie
http://www.4evajessie.com
Omg Jessie! Your comment just totally made my day. You’re so thoughtful and sweet – thank you so much. I loved reading about your schedule – I can’t believe you get so much done in just an hour a day! Get it girl!! Totally inspirational and motivating. And I LOVE following your travels so much! I wish I had more flexibility with my work so I could do the same! Travel is the best thing you can do!
For me, my schedule varies from day to day but I generally try to shoot once a week and work on blog from 0 to 2 hours a day on average! Sometimes more sometimes less. Thanks for sharing and love following along on your journey as well xx
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