I Admit It: I Can’t Do It All

If you remember an earlier blog post of mine, you know I’m an avid magazine reader. I really enjoy the articles and beautiful photos, but they also stress me out. Not just when the magazines pile up, but also reading them. In between the excitement of ‘I could do that’ or ‘I should buy that’, I feel insanely inadequate.

Who has time to spotlessly clean the house; properly cook all healthy meals; get a sufficient amount of exercise; sleep the recommended hours; selflessly volunteer in the community; regularly bond with friends and family; groom one’s body, face, and hair with antiaging products; ensure the yard is safe from harmful critters; burglar-proof the home; and annually optimize a retirement portfolio? Admittedly, I do not.

I haven’t even mentioned all you’re expected to do at work, not just to maintain your job but to “lean in” for your career. And if you have children, the list grows exponentially: their safety, well-being, financial security, education, playdates, development, and on and on.

When I saw the online article headline, “What if we told you we could save you five hours, 40 minutes and 30 seconds a week?” I couldn’t click on it quick enough. But, truth be told, the suggestions didn’t seem like the greatest ideas, have much impact, or appear all that realistic. Some included:

• Skip the gym and wear slimming clothing
• Buy a mega capacity washer with “TurboWash” to save 20 minutes per load
• Avoid chopping vegetables by using pre-chopped ones from the local market

Unfortunately, these tips aren’t going to save me nearly enough time to nail all of the above.

Then I realized, nothing can.

I cannot do everything the well-meaning articles tell me to. No one can. Like the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), we are not meant to do it all. The articles (and the PMBOK) are a huge collection of guidelines of best practices that you can pick and choose to follow based on your (or your organization’s) needs.

We all want a clean house, but you don’t need to scrub the grout with a toothbrush every time you clean the bathroom. Healthy eating should be everyone’s goal, but everything (except poison) in moderation should keep your diet in check, throwing in a crazy-healthy smoothie when you can but not stressing about an occasional hot dog or cookie. If you’re not overweight or training for a marathon, fairly regular, light exercise may be all you need to stay fit. Some people may function fine on 6 hours of sleep rather than 7-8 hours. And it’s okay to truly like your current job as is!

On the flip side, if you live in an area prone to crime, perhaps extra precautions are necessary. If you feel like a sense of accomplishment is missing from your life, spending some free time to volunteer may boost your well-being. If you’re not great at saving money, you may want to pay extra attention to your current and future financial outlook and plans.

You can’t do it all, nor do you have to. It’s about what you personally need and don’t need. That means taking an honest look in the mirror, but also not being too hard on yourself. Don’t just say, “Good is good enough” but believe that “good” is relative to you. Someone else’s good is your perfect, which is extremely freeing.