Hiya, friend. earlier this week I talked about turning negatives into positives with a quickness. Well, I’m still working on flipping and reversing it à la Missy Elliott, and the issue I’m dealing with right now is one of the things I find most challenging: setting realistic expectations of what I can accomplish in a set amount of time.
I don’t know if it’s the former perfectionist in me (I’m working on it), but I always want to do more, finish more, check more things off my to-do list, and I consistently overshoot and overestimate what I can take on.
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For example, if I only have 10 minutes to feed the fam, instead of whipping up three PBJ sandwiches, slicing an apple and calling it done, invariably, I’ll slice a stack of veggies and dice a pound of chicken like a crazy kitchen ninja to make an Insta-worthy meal (which I’ll also have to take pictures of, of course). So, instead of doing what I could have done in 10 minutes, I spend 45 minutes, also known as “35 minutes more than I had.”
The result? I’m behind, and everyone (including me!) is starving and crabby.
THIS IS MY LIFE, GUYS!
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I don’t know why, but I’ve always done this. but I’m determined to flip the script and stop setting myself up to fail.
If you also struggle with overestimating what you can accomplish, here’s what I’ve been doing to address it lately:
I take account of how much time I have for any given task (i.e. 15 minutes to do the laundry), and then I significantly undershoot what I plan to accomplish in that block of time (only sorting and starting one load).
I’m all for giving 110% and going above and beyond, but sometimes, you (and I) need to remember that we aren’t working robot zombies. sometimes it’s ok to pull it back, and it’s ok to be completely honest with yourself and say, “Look, I know you want to do all teh things, but it’s just not feasible, and you’re not going to pretend it is and set yourself up for failure.”
Remember that self-love refers to more than luxurious lotions and fancy face masks (although those can also be nice). Sometimes, loving and caring for yourself means setting more realistic expectations.
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Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. TGIF! ?