Whether you want to be or not, just trying to navigate in today's modern world, you're likely someone who wears a lot of different hats.
Being an indie business owner, like I and so many of you are, is a hat-fest in itself. We're not only the creators, but also the photographers, marketers, tech dept.... manager, employee and assistant... head of branding, bookkeeping and customer service... chief blogger and entire social media dept.
And our days don't even end there- we still want to also be a good wife/partner/mom/friend and keep our house clean(ish) too.
That's a crap-ton of hats we wear, ya'll!
So how do we do all that while keeping at least a semblance of our shit together and not becoming a stress fest? Here's what helps me:
I remember to take care of myself.
If alllla that is relying on little ol' me to take care of it? I best try to keep my energy, health and spirit up to the task. I talk regularly here (and over on the Maven Circle) about the importance of self-care routines. Honestly, I've been falling off the wagon a bit and need to get back to adding more self-care into my life, too.
When I have those "all these hats are just too much!" stressed out days, I realize it's because I'm lacking some basic need- usually sleep, stretching or getting space can cure any bit of stress that comes up for me. But, it's been coming up a little more often lately which is a signal to me that I need to be doing more for myself, still.
More meditation and even more exercise are both getting added to my schedule because I know they help me stay flexible and calm when the stress from juggling all those hats can start to catch up.
I try to wear only one hat at a time.
With all this effort for so many years to make us humans good multi-taskers, it's no wonder we feel so frazzled, directionless and like we never really get anything done.
Wearing all of those hats all at one time is possible, yes- but it's going to be a struggle. You constantly have to shift your balance and re-arrange the hats, having to worry about all of them all at once just to make sure they don't all topple over. It can become a very overwhelming and dis-empowering feeling.
Think of instead keeping a cute proverbial bag with you to store all those different hats and keep them within reach when you need, but you only wear one at a time. Focus on that hat- show it off!
I've found I'm much better at writing when I take pen to page, away from the computer (and internet distractions) and just write. I actually accomplish what I set out to on my to-do list most days because I (make it realistic for one, and) focus on one thing at a time.
You only have one head- stick with one hat at a time!
I release the guilt
With many hats comes the guilt of not being able to wear them all well all at once. I have gotten to those points where I feel like I'm doing a bad job at everything and disappointing people, including myself, and the guilt becomes unbearable and then I get stuck! And it gets worse!
Guilt is not going to do any good for you- learning, growing and doing better the next time though, will.
To release that guilt, I try to give myself credit for all that I AM doing well and right and awesomely, for all the things that are working and seem to come easily. And in doing that, life no longer feels like a place that sticks me, but rather a place that motivates me to bring more of that good stuff into it.
I give some hats up
This is a tough one for me, maybe because I'm an only child who has sharing issues, maybe because I'm simply a control freak, but giving up some of my many life or business hats is a scary idea!
But here's the thing- even if we ditch trying to balance all those hats on our head, and carry them around in our bags with us instead- those bags are gonna start to get heavy! And I'm ready to lighten my load.
I think it's time I give up the bookkeeper hat cause it's one I've always met with dread- I finally see that it is worth the money to pay a professional to take stuff off your plate, if that frees up hours of time you could be using for hats you actually like to wear!
I also re-structured my business to get rid of some of those hats that weren't fitting any longer- "ad-manager" and "submission fielder" were a couple I got rid of to have more time to wear my favorite "writer" hat! I also share a lot of hats now with Jen at MC, and having a partner to share in those responsibilities really lightens the load and feels good!
Which hats can you give away, share or keep up on a closet shelf for awhile? Which hats are your favorites and are you wearing those ones often enough? I'd love to hear!
{This is part of our Truthy Tuesday series over at The Maven Circle, where we openly share our struggles and thoughts around a different topic each week. Join us in getting truthy on your own blog, and we'll link up and spread the love!}
