Priorities (or, Adulting)

So, I started a new job last week — good!

Due to said job, I failed to find time in my schedule to write — not so good.

Once again being required to clock and commit to a certain number of working hours that had previously been dedicated to my own never-ending to-do list, I wonder…

How the hell does anyone work a 9–5 and still do anything for themselves?

Priorities are subjective.

But objectively, everyone must at some point or another prioritize work. Because sadly, we need money to survive and to do other enjoyable things like eat, or whatever.

Work has been a high priority of mine for some time now because I’ve happily spent a lot of time (and money) living these last couple of years, and while I am continuously growing my advisor business, I need a more consistent income to sustain my ideal lifestyle.

Enter: new job. A new level of consistency unlocked — and I must clock X amount of hours per week to sustain it. I am also working as part of a team, something I’m grateful for after a good deal of time spent working for myself.

Wow! A real, adult obligation!

On the flip, this blog is an obligation solely to myself — and no one else. I don’t have a base of readers awaiting a weekly post, nor do I really care to. It’s never been about that.

It’s a practice. Sitting down and showing up. Articulating whatever happens to be on my mind, even when there’s not much. (Remember fishbowl brain?)

One might say that with the arrival of this new job, an obligation to others, writing is no longer the priority it once was.

But this writing practice is a priority — to me. A really big one.

And I can’t let it fall to the wayside just because some other big guy has entered the building.

So here I am, sitting to write, when I really feel like I should be clocking hours. And it’s stressing me out. But I’m doing it.

—

How do you balance your priorities?

Work. Health. Friends and family. Purely mindless screen time.

Over the course of a day, my therapist says it’s best to do the hard things first, because everything else afterwards becomes easier. This I can get behind.

Though what if it’s not a matter of difficulty, but desire?

A. I desire to write because I skipped last week’s post and I was feeling a bit guilty, and also because I’m genuinely trying to unpack something in this new phase of work/life balance.

B. I desire to clock more hours because my week got off to a slow start and I don’t want to be sat at my desk on Friday night to meet a quota.

How do we prioritize, then? The importance of differing desires? Is there such a thing? That doesn’t make sense to me. I desire both, because both are necessary, and both will make me feel good in different ways. And both are obligations — to others and to myself.

I don’t have a clear answer. Which implies that like most things, the solution almost definitely lies in the eternal human search for balance.

Oh, it’s just like I said. The non-answer is in the initial question, which I ask once more:

How do you balance your priorities?

I’d love to hear from you.