How Do You Balance Responsibilities and Actually Enjoy Your Life?

Do you feel like you always have a million things to do and you’re just trying to keep up with it all? Even when you’re supposed to be having fun, does your mind drift back to everything you haven’t finished yet?

In this episode, we’re talking about the challenge of balancing responsibilities while still making space to actually enjoy your life. I’m learning to take small steps, set better boundaries, and make time for myself without constantly overdoing it.

I don’t have it all figured out, but I’m doing my best. And if you feel the same way, this conversation is for you.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hi there. I'm your host Corinne and this is Okay But Are You Good? Where we checking ourselves on a weekly basis to see how we're doing. Are we living our best lives? Are we just trying to get by? Man, old man, has life been busy? My mind's been all over the place. As usual, there's just too much to do and no time to do it. You hear me? And I've been trying to figure out how do I balance life and live it to its fullest and also stay responsible and get what I need done. Because between work, responsibilities, family, friends, household stuff, and trying to keep up with my routine, I just feel like as usual, I'm just going through the motions and I want to figure out how to also manage my time to enjoy life. Like almost pencil it pencil it in, I guess. So that's what we're gonna dive into in this episode. Do you ever feel like there's just always something that needs your attention? Yes. People of kids, probably 24, 7. As someone without children, I still feel that way. That there's always something I have to do. There's no time to rest. And when there is time to rest, I'm not really present. I'm not really in the moment. I'm just like, okay, you're wasting time when you could be checking stuff off your to-do list. You're gonna get behind. So then you stop resting and then you get back on it because you don't want to fall behind, because then that's when you have your breakdowns. So it's a constant tug and pull of how do I enjoy my life and stay responsible. And that's kind of how life has been lifing lately is like I have my routine down, my schedule. I've said that so many times, and that's great. But I think I still haven't figured out the niche of like making time for myself, friends, and family outside of like my responsibilities. I've talked about how I am easily guilt-tripped and people pleaser, and it sucks. And I think that's why I give in and end up doing things that I don't want to do uh on my free time. And this past week, there's been a lot of things coming up, family stuff. And I had a really tough week, I guess, now that I think about it. And I just I was really trying to show up and be there for the people I needed to be there for. But at the end of the day, like I needed to be there for myself. I needed to not put others first, I needed to put myself first, and that's what I did. And I missed a family birthday party. I felt bad about it, but I really needed that time to just like be with myself and spend time with my husband and not have to be around like 50 people because I got a big family. And I I felt so much better. Like it was something I really needed to do, and I still kind of feel bad about it, but I'm like, it's fine. We're we're constantly having family time. We always we can't always be everywhere all at once. And it's funny because when I was in San Francisco, I was so bombed, I missed so many birthday parties, weddings, celebrations, like you name it. I just couldn't be there, especially during the week. It's impossible. I have school or work. So when we first moved back to back to LA, I was so excited because I could go to everything again. And I never realized how overwhelming it is when you have a big family and there's five million birthdays always, and it's a blessing, it is, but it's also so exhausting. And you know, I just had a tough week. I just you're around people all day, every day. So on the weekends, you really want for me, I at least kind of just want to be on my own, like just quality time with my husband and my cats, and just chill out. So I think there's these moments you gotta take a step back and really realize like what's working, what's not. If you're feeling sad, like I always try and push myself out of it because I'm like, no one wants to be around anyone who's sad or anything other than happy. And that's not true. If you're going through a hard time, if you're not feeling your absolute best, it's okay to sit in it and be in it and work through it, and then you'll come out better. And that's what my therapist recently told me because I've been so upset and like trying to get navigate, feeling like up and down constantly, and like I'll get there. I'll be on my mojo of like uh of finding my good groove and my happy groove. So it's just navigating life and navigating responsibilities and fun and your mental health. Like, I'm, as I've said, I really want to focus on my mental health this quarter and just live my best life. And I feel like just missing one little birthday party was such a big step for me. Other people, it's like, what's the big deal? Like, who cares? No, it matters because I don't like missing out on family stuff, but sometimes it's just too much. And I swear half my family is born in March. It's crazy. So yeah, March, March has been overwhelming, or March was. It's I'm like March and April, I guess we have so many birthdays, but I'm really working on prioritizing my time and making the most of it. And you know, that's about balance and like adjusting your day-to-day and like what you're focusing on with your responsibilities and your quality time and your self-care. I think that's just how it is. You're just constantly juggling and switching through. You can plan out so much stuff, but then life happens and you gotta readjust and realign. And I think that's what I've been trying to work through. I always say I'm so self-aware, but I think sometimes it doesn't come as instant as I think it does. And it takes me a minute to realize, okay, like this isn't working. You need to like balance better and like not try and be in 50 places at once. I'm really having a hard time with that, I guess. So I'm working on that. I'm working on living my best life and staying on top of things. My as my husband says, you just gotta do adult things. Like it just is what it is. And I think what I'm gonna work on and try to really do is just like be present, stop focusing so much on the next thing, on the next few hours. Like if I'm out with my family, with my friends for like three hours, I'm focused. I'm not thinking about what I'm not getting done because I'm out having fun. I think that's when I'm I'm missing the plot. The plot is to enjoy life, be present, be in the moment, and while also doing what you want to do, not overcommitting to stuff, not letting people feel bad, missing a birthday party or two, and choosing yourself while doing that. Because I want to get to the point in life where it doesn't feel like I'm just I'm managing every second of my day. I want to be able to have just have my routine and enjoy it and have little things to look forward to, what like having a coffee or going on a bike ride or running or just doing things I like while also still being responsible and staying a productive adult. So I guess I really haven't figured it out, but I think what I'm that what I'm gonna do is just be present and focus on the task at hand and not so much focusing on what isn't getting done because it always gets done. We always figure it out. So essentially how I'm managing or working on getting my responsibilities done and still having fun is just take things day by day, be present, know your limits, know when you're overextended and you just have to stay home and rest. Because things always get done. It just might take longer. And that's okay. Like I think it's not always about getting everything done perfectly in a couple hours, in that day, in that week. It might just take two weeks, a couple days. But it's gonna be okay because I wanna. What's that saying? Oh my gosh, it was in um that Netflix show, Emily in Paris, where it's like the US live to work, but we work to live. Like, I wanna get to that point where I'm working to live my best life and like my responsibilities get done, but it's not taking over everything I need, and I still have time to go on my trips, and that's all actually, that's all I want to do is travel. There's nothing else right now. So if you've been feeling overwhelmed, you got a lot going on, don't worry. You'll get it done. Focus on what you can do right now in the next hour, couple hours, be in the moment. Take time for yourself. So if you've been feeling overwhelmed because you got a lot going on, don't worry. You're gonna get done. You've been here before, you can manage your time and still have fun. Just take time for yourself when needed. Because life is meant to be enjoyed, and we're trying to live our best lives, aren't we? So thank you so much for listening in. Don't forget to ask yourself, okay, but are you good? And I'll catch you all next week. And make sure to like and subscribe.