Kia ora,

I’m back!

I’ve had a few weeks off all things content, and I’ve been seriously so encouraged by the multiple people who have reached out to say how much they’ve missed receiving the newsletter.

It feels good to be back — I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Estimated Read time: 5 minutes 22 seconds

The Deep Dive: How I Juggle So Many Things

"How do you juggle so many things?" is a question I get asked a lot. 🤹‍♀️

Between a fractional contract, a consultancy business, property investing, gymming, marathoning, and learning foreign languages — I do have a lot on my plate.

So I wanted this newsletter to talk about how I juggle all of the passions I have and manage to get a (slowly increasing) amount of sleep.

The first part to address is that while I do a lot, I don't do it all at once. ⏱️

You've probably noticed that there has been quite some time since the last issue of Business-Minded. 6 weeks (!!) in fact.

And it hasn't been just the newsletter that's suffered — my LinkedIn has also been neglected for the same amount of time.

I'm not proud of the inconsistency, but there has been an unprecedented volume of other life admin going on that I've had to ruthlessly prioritise.

Here's what's been happening the past 6 weeks on top of the BAU:

1. I sustained an injury that completely knocked me out of running, and meant I was slotting physio appointments into my schedule 2x per week.

2. I sold my shares in Brandsitters to my wonderful former business partner and ongoing best friend. 🤝

3. Set up my new company, Business-Minded, and have been chipping away at the website. 💻

4. Lost a grandparent.

5. Planned a trip to India for a wedding. ✈️

6. Kicked off renovations for my house - I've sorted my kitchen supplier, plumber, and acquired appliances. Still need an electrician though so HMU if you know one based around Central Auckland.

7. Dealt with a sudden and violent cockroach infestation. 🪳

8. Ran a half marathon and improved my time despite afore-mentioned injury and 5 weeks of minimal running. 🏅

9. Have been investigating a VERY exciting new opportunity which I can't talk about yet. 👀

My mornings, evenings and weekends have been littered with reviewing contracts, researching & paying suppliers and needing to be highly responsive outside of my usual professional and personal responsibilities.

For the sake of my sanity, I had to put content creation to the side. I plan to get to a stage where I can delegate more things so my content doesn't drop off, but in my current phase of life, delegating = spending more money, which is not viable when I'm saving for a renovation, an international trip, and legal bills.

This year I've also deprioritised two of my favourite hobbies: learning Mandarin and yoga due to having such limited time. The fact that I miss both so much reiterates how much these pursuits mean to me and indicates that when I rebalance priorities, they will be the first back in. 🧘‍♀️ 🇨🇳

The second ingredient to spinning a lot of plates is having some clear non-negotiables. 🙅‍♀️

I'm happy to work hard and work long.

But I can't only work hard and long.

I value exercise, health and relationships.

That means that most days per week, I want to be doing some form of exercise. 💪

That means that at least once per week, I do something with friends or family, and that I'm spending quality time with my partner every day.

That means leaving time for myself on a weekend to meal prep for the week so I know I'm eating well, and have enough time between finishing work and going to sleep so I can actually feel well rested in the morning.

If work starts to encroach on those other areas, I start to feel resentful and eventually burn out.

Having these non-negotiables does mean that I have less time for work in a day than I'd like, but it means I can sustain the marathon rather than burn out after the sprint. 🏃‍♀️

The third ingredient is having an accurate and up to date calendar. 📅

I live by my Google calendar. If it's not in my calendar, I won't be there.

I have my default view set to month view, and have a robust colour coding system so I can understand the anatomy of my week at a glance.

Having a good calendar system helps me map out priorities and know where I have capacity to slot something in and where I need to say no.

The fourth ingredient is being a good communicator. 💬

I used to say yes to everything.

Sometimes I'd hop between up to 5 different events in a day, or say yes to every project regardless of how much was on my plate.

Now I'm much more selective on what I say yes to, and communicate up front with people what my prior commitments are. If I'm not sure I can attend something until right up until the last moment, I'll let people know.

Similarly if a project comes my way that I have limited capacity for, I'm much better at articulating what I can realistically deliver, or can let people know when I can take on the project.

Action of the Week:

Have something you'd love to slot into your routine, but are unsure of how?

Do an audit of your time.

Keep a log this week of all your activities from when you wake up to when you go to bed, including things like time spent on your phone, eating etc.

At the end of the week, you'll have a clear gauge of where your time is going.

Is it aligned to your values and your goals for the next 12 months?

Is it going to existing commitments that bring you fulfilment and the non-negotiables that recharge you?

…Or is it going to screen time or to commitments which leave you feeling more drained?

If your answer is the former two, it may not be the time to introduce a new layer into your routine, unless there's another commitment you're willing to pause.

If your answer is the latter, there is scope to layer in something new, however you will likely need to change existing habits first.

Inspo & Recommendations:

LinkedIn post: How AI Actually Learns by Sarah Mitchell 🤖

Podcast ep: Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri on Growth Hacks, Algorithms and Creation by Working Hard 📱

Learning: Are you a Chronic Canceller? By Powrsuit 📆

Tech: I used AI to help me make a key decision last week. I listed the situation and all the pros and cons and asked Chat GPT for its analysis. Its comments echoed the direction I had been leaning toward, but having the decision articulated so clearly helped me make the call. 💡

Money: Look for second hand first. I follow this rule for everything (aside from running shoes). I furnished my whole house almost exclusively on Marketplace and TradeMe. Highlights include finding four boujee ghost chairs for $100, and a Kogan dishwasher still in its packaging for $380 (retails for $700). 💰

Love from your business-minded friend,

Elise

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