Juggling All The Things

As I’ve learned, life’s best plans go awry. Thankfully my new lifestyle allows me to (somewhat) expect the unexpected. Having a sick kid home from school for days, plus visits to the pediatrician, and a surprise ER visit would normally cause a shit-ton of anxiety. But since I have kept up with all my client work and (somewhat) with my own deadlines, I was able to slack and watch Marvel movies with my son today while he recovered at home. (He’s doing pretty good.)

I think that’s my favorite part of the switch to freelance work–being able to adjust my schedule so I’m present for my family more. As a workaholic this still a challenge, but at least I have the freedom to arrange my day how it best suits us. 

I’m deadline oriented. I like having a goal that I can work toward, with mini deadlines along the way to meet steps. I like checking things off my list. I think this is why it pains me so much when I have to push back a publication date for one of my books, and why I’m holding off announcing deadlines publicly for the time being. In every other area of my life, I’m great at hitting the goal posts. 

People ask how I manage to keep so many projects afloat all the time. And while I’m not perfect–by any stretch of the imagination–I do manage to get a lot of shit done is a surprisingly small amount of time. 

I’ll let you in on my not-so-secret secret.

I use a project management software called Asana. Look at how pretty and organized! I know, I’m a total nerd.

I have each project listed separately with all my repeated projects (like my blog and podcast) as a checklist so I don’t forget anything. In fact, my checklists have checklists, y’all! Everything has due dates (well, almost everything) and Asana sends reminders to my email AND the app on my phone. 

It’s been so life-changing for me professionally that I added one for my personal life. (The family isn’t on board yet but I’m working on them!) Once they are, we can coordinate doctor visits–three kids, yo–and household honey-dos. 

It’s a good balance between so-called left and right brain functionality. It fits my craving for order and structure AND balances it with colorful, fun encouragement (unicorns and rainbows pop up when you complete a task!)

Best of all it’s free! There’s a paid version if you need to upgrade to the fancier stuff, but I’ve been very happy with the array of options on the free account for the last 6 months. 

Everyone who’s had the (mis)fortune of asking me how I manage to do ALL THE THINGS has probably heard the speel already, but I can’t help but sing its praises because it has helped me that much.