A question that I am asked over and over again is – “How on earth do you manage to work on so many things?” I know that most of the people asking me this assume that I achieve this feat quite efficiently. Only I know that the truth is far from it!
Let me start by talking about a typical day in my life. Well, wait, there is actually no such day. Owing to being involved in multiple lines of work, every day is different, every day poses a new challenge, and every day I have a different set of tasks to accomplish. There are times when I run on frenzied schedules for days altogether and then there is a quieter phase that follows, which, however, doesn’t last that long.
I do not know how effective I am with time management but fortunately, I realized one golden mantra long back which greatly helped me improve my productivity. That golden mantra is: I am not a superwoman and I do not need to be one.
It is not easy for women to follow this mantra because of social conditioning that dictates we must manage all the household chores. But the feminist movement coupled with self-acceptance and self-awareness has made it possible for me to live by it. As part of a project while volunteering with an NGO, I was required to research feminism and feminist stories. This was an eye-opening experience which transformed my perception and outlook towards life in multifarious ways.
It dawned upon me then that the pedestal created by society to glorify women is a farce and is actually detrimental to the emotional and professional growth of womenfolk. Upon introspection, I learned that random parameters set by someone else do not define me.
The moment this thought got embedded in my head for good, I stopped trying to do it all and be all over the place. I listed the various domestic tasks I was responsible for and outsourced the ones I could to trusted people. I also began to pay importance to self-care by taking out time to do things which act as therapy whenever I need to restore my mojo. This automatically allocated more mental space for me to focus on my work.
I no longer felt guilty about ordering food from outside for my daughter when the cook was on leave and I had a deadline to meet. I no longer cursed myself for leaving my wardrobe in a mess during peak work periods. I stopped setting the bar too high for myself and began to plan my time with a practical approach. All this was also possible because I had a strong support system in my husband, parents, and friends who have stood by me at all times. My husband, in particular, has always considered my career and choices as significant as his. While this is how every good partner is supposed to be, I thank my stars to have someone like him in a patriarchal society like ours.
Apart from a strong support system, prioritization is key and will always vary from person to person. Taking charge is important and standing by your priorities is crucial.
There is no point in repenting or indulging in self-pity for not being able to do something which doesn’t really figure in your current scheme of things. For example, as a blogger, I have never participated in any of the coveted and extremely beneficial blogging challenges because of lack of time and space. Under no circumstances did I fret over missing out on them. Similarly, when it comes to leisure, I prefer to spend time with friends instead of sitting in front of the idiot box or watching movies, even though I was a movie buff earlier.
It is also necessary to understand that focus does not mean working towards only one goal. To me, focus is about simply being there in the moment with all your heart and soul. So there is nothing like working on too many things at once in principle.
If I have a dance workshop planned in a particular week, I take up lesser writing projects/deliverables during that time. Appropriate and meticulous planning while keeping one’s aspirations in mind is pivotal to a fulfilling career. This involves learning to say no as well because we often end up spending a huge chunk of our precious time on activities that we were never willing to get involved with in the first place! I have struggled with this too, and while I have not yet mastered this subtle art, I am attempting to get there.
I would like to wish every woman out there a Happy Women’s Day! As I always say, together we are a force that is unstoppable. I would like to sign off with this message for all you lovely ladies:
