The Myth of “Doing It All”

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Lately, I have a lot on my plate.  And, people always ask me, “How do you do it all?”  And, I usually answer something to the effect of “Somehow it all gets done.  I don’t know how, but it does.”  And, that’s not true.  This is the myth of people who do and manage so many jobs and responsibilities. NO ONE gets it ALL done.

There are two things that people like myself are good at doing: Choosing and Prioritizing.  I don’t get it all done.  I choose.  Every day I make choices about what is most important at that given moment.  And, some things are not chosen.  Some things are simply not done.

There are days I choose to get to the office early over taking a shower.  There are days that I choose to write a blog post over sleeping.  There are days that I choose to play with Lili over doing my bookkeeping. There are days that I choose to work on Get Hitched Give Hope over mmm… paper.  There are days that I choose to meet a printing deadline for The Simple Plan workbook over taking Lili to the park.  That is the long and short of it.  Lara Casey recently talked about how she hasn’t slept, worked out, eaten, laughed, or blogged while trying to finalize the last print edition of Southern Wedding Magazine.  ‘Tis true!  No one gets it all done.

I want you to know this, especially if you are new to the wedding business… especially if you are new to entrepreneurship.  I’ve always looked up to people who “get it all done”.  I have looked up to them as incredible super-beings who are on top of the world.  And, truth be told there is some pride in having people ask you, “Michelle, how do you do it all?”  But, it’s a big fat myth.  No one does it all.  We choose.  We prioritize.  And, we must do a pretty decent job at choosing and prioritizing because people seem to think we get it all done.  (HA!  Oh 24-hour-fitness, you and I are unrequited lovers long overdue for a reunion.)

Everyone has different methods of prioritizing.  I wrote about this recently in the post, Prioritizing for your Small Business.  I make lists and I condense my “priority list” down to the most important and most urgent.  I usually have 10 manageable things on my condensed list (and about 50 other sheets of paper held with a binder clip of assorted other to-dos, along with my google tasks online.)  And, I also make “on the spot” assessments of what is most important at that given moment.  I may have a list of SUPER important things, but a 2-year-old begging me “Mommy, go room.  Mommy, play bear house.”  I may have to ignore my list for one of the ladies and gent of GHGH who need help in a pinch.

I choose.  I prioritize.  That is what I do.