Hi everyone.
It's been a while since my last post. I'm sorry about that. I really enjoy Hive and talking to people on here, but it has been hard to fit it in.
Recently...
I have a lot of stuff on my plate at the moment. I'm not complaining, it's just how it is these days. Recently, things have gotten pretty hectic. It seems everything has come at once and I have found myself a little overwhelmed.
My week currently looks like this:
- Working my day job (M-F 0900 - 2000)
- Making content for my ESL website (Articles/Videos/Podcasts/SM posts)
- Making videos for my personal YT channel
- Learning Japanese (30 mins per day + 1 hr lesson on weekends)
- Learning Portuguese (15 mins per day)
- Exercise (30 mins per day)
- Taking my wife to and from work
- Dealing with Visa stuff
And this is just the stuff I need to do. I also try to find time to spend time with my wife, watch some TV shows (Squid Game is excellent BTW) play some games and talk to friends.
and this causes some problems.
Sometimes, I get a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing, so I find myself trying to do too much and not actually achieving anything. Then I get frustrated and things just fall apart.
Sadly, I pride myself on working hard and if I feel like I am not achieving anything, I tend to get pretty down. When you combine this with stress and feeling overwhelmed, it often leads to my good old mate anxiety and panic paying a visit.
I wish I could just let stuff go, but I am not that kind of person. I hate to fail at anything and I hate to give up even more. Even though it is hard and can make me feel bad, it is not as bad as I would feel if I gave up.
So recently, I have been thinking about how to be as productive as possible while balancing all these things at the same time. The good news it that being this busy is not the norm and things should calm down in a couple of months or so.
That is why I have decided...
To try and manage my time and tasks in the most effective way possible and learning to accept that I can't do everything all the time.
Recently. I am trying to get used to the idea of time blocking and getting better at time management. I try to have a daily to do list and I do each task in order throughout the day. If I can't find time to do a task, it needs to be postponed.
The important tasks go at the beginning of the list. You know, like my actual job and stuff like that. Then the stuff I want to achieve goes next. This is usually related to my ESL website content or language learning.
I always make sure to block out at least 1 hour in the evening to relax and spend time with my wife. I have a habit of getting too involved in things and forgetting to take care of myself, and my relationships so this is a must.
In terms of content management, I am using trello to organise everything I need to do to keep up with my release schedule. I find this tool pretty handy when it comes to keeping track of what I have done and what still needs to be done.
The reminders app on my phone is also super useful these days.
Do you guys have any advice or suggestions about staying on top of everything? I would love to hear them.
Would you like to know more?
Check out my ESL website DanSenSei English and see what I make. I work super hard on it so every view is appreciated!
Bonus Cat Pics
Here are pics of Melonkun and Panchan not enjoying being dressed up by my wife.
Thanks for reading!
Same here!!
My brother used to use Trello to delegate work...if you're making enough to share...you could delegate some of the work...
The truth about deligation is that the sooner you do it the sooner the person working with you will know how to do work the way you want it
That's a good point. I currently do all the work myself. Its a lot of stuff tbh but I don't make any money to pay anyone else to help me! 🤣 Maybe in the future I can get people to help.
Lol..alright
I think you mistakenly unfollowed me
oh, my bad. I fixed it now!
Lol...yeah I saw it...
Thanks for your amazing content!!
Yoo you work til 8pm!? I thought that kind of schedule was slowly being done away with in Japan. I haven’t heard of foreign teachers having to work 11 hours a day at least. It’s really hard to manage anything else with that kind of schedule so great job!
Ironically, I don’t really take pride in working hard but I end up working very hard. That is probably one of the subconscious reasons I feel I need to live in Japan. Watching everyone else and their schedule gives me a sense of normal that allows me to work a lot harder without feeling I’m very hard working.
Also more and more of what I do is kind of just for fun, but I’m trying to organize it better (thanks to this Japan busy sense of normal) so that it can be monetized well. The way I see it, I have more to offer others when I am having fun.
That doesn’t mean I don’t burn out though. Since I mix my work and play, I often end up working 14 hours days and don’t even realize it, but my body does if I’m not careful…
Man, with a schedule like that, I don’t know what to recommend other than appreciate yourself for being able to balance everything! Even half that is impressive. You are awesome!
It's not normally this bad, and it's usually 9-4 a couple of days a week with 2 or 3 late nights. Just it's the busy period at the moment so I'm just trying my best to get through it haha