Y’all, let’s be real for a minute. If your life looks anything like mine right now, your desk is probably a beautiful, chaotic disaster: a stack of textbooks next to a client brief, a half-finished mug of cold tea (or probably coffee for you), and a notebook full of ideas for T-shirts and blog posts that have absolutely no business being next to your syllabus.
As we stare down the final weeks of the year—and the final push of the semester (in case you didn't know I continued with my doctoral studies after graduation, I know crazy!)—it’s easy to feel like we’re failing at everything because we’re trying to do everything. We’re writers, we’re students going back to school, we’re creators launching side hustles on Redbubble, Threadless, etc. and sometimes, we’re just exhausted humans.
This isn't about productivity hacks today. This is about acknowledging the beautiful, messy truth of the juggle.
Finding the Oasis in the Overwhelm
I’ve been creating pieces lately about finding your "vibe," organizing your life, and finding "stillness." But here's the honest truth: the real stillness often happens after the sprint, in those five minutes when you actually close your laptop and just look at the stack of things you managed to complete.
The inspiration for the next big project isn't found in a quiet retreat; it's found right here, in the middle of the mess you created. It comes from:
The late-night flash of humor that turns into a perfect, sarcastic t-shirt slogan.
The obscure reference you found in a required reading that sparks a whole new blog post angle.
The resilience you find when you turn in a paper and deliver a client article on the same day.
That moment of overlap—where your student brain informs your writer brain, which then inspires your creator brain—is the magic. Don’t try to separate the hats; let them all be stacked on your head at a slightly ridiculous angle.
Three Rules for the Professional Juggler
If you’re feeling the weight of the "all the things," here are my three simple rules for making it through the last leg of the year:
Lower the Bar for Perfection: A submitted draft is always better than a perfect draft that sits on your hard drive forever. C-minus effort in one area (say, a less-than-perfect meal) allows for A-plus effort in another (that final paper). Decide where 'good enough' is actually good enough.
Designate Your Recharge Gear: What simple item reminds you to reset? For me, it might be a specific oversized mug, a comfortable hoodie, or a notebook I only use for brainstorming. Use these small, physical objects as a permission slip to pause.
Celebrate the Micro-Win: Did you finish that tricky bibliography? That's a win. Did you post that quirky sticker design? That's a win. Did you drink a glass of water that wasn't sugary coffee, tea, juice, or soda? Huge win. Acknowledge these tiny successes. They are the fuel for the big ones.
We are building complicated, multi-layered lives. It's supposed to feel messy sometimes. Let the chaos be your confirmation that you're doing the work.
Keep creating, keep studying, and keep showing up. We got this.
What's one thing you're celebrating this week? Drop your micro-win in the comments!
