Let Me Explain: My Work/Life Balance, My Blog, And How My Brain Works

I’ve been running a blog for 17 years now, and for many of these years, I’ve been running a blog about my DIY tasks. My DIY journey began once we had been residing in our tiny little apartment situated by Baylor College in Waco. Throughout these first years within the apartment, I additionally had an inside adorning enterprise and was adorning for shoppers. That was my full-time job, and like most individuals who’ve full-time jobs, my very own DIY dwelling tasks had been finished on evenings and weekends. After which Matt’s well being began to say no to the purpose that I may not preserve scheduled conferences with shoppers, or I might get a frantic cellphone name from him in the midst of an set up in a consumer’s dwelling, and I must rush dwelling to assist Matt. Life was irritating then.

So I ultimately stopped working for shoppers altogether, and I turned my DIY tasks and my weblog into my full-time work. It was handy because it allowed me to remain dwelling, and I cherished the work I used to be doing, however that was my life. My whole life was engaged on tasks and serving to Matt. That was it. I had no life exterior of our apartment.

I don’t know what number of of you had been round again then, however in some unspecified time in the future, I took on a significant DIY mission for a pair who needed to rent me as a decorator, however I defined to them that I used to be not doing that. So as an alternative, they principally handed over their home to me (a home that they weren’t residing in) they usually let me DIY the heck out of their home. I fully DIYed their bed room, rest room, household room, and kitchen. I cherished that mission a lot. It was enjoyable and difficult, and since it was a non-standard adorning mission, with them residing out of city, I had free reign in that home. I may work once I may (when Matt’s well being allowed it). I may come and go as I happy. I may work so long as I wanted to, even into the evenings. And I may drop all the things and go dwelling at any second if Matt wanted me. It was type of a dream job attending to DIY by myself schedule with free reign and with different individuals’s cash.

However once more, that was my life. All my life consisted of was engaged on that home and caring for Matt. And since the toll of Matt’s MS on his well being was all new to us again then, it was irritating. However as a result of his MS wasn’t as superior as it’s now, I may spend lengthy stretches of time away from him. So I used to be working about 10-13 hours a day. Like I mentioned, it was my life.

I keep in mind throughout that point, I challenged myself at one level. I had a “one mission a day” aim. In different phrases, my problem to myself was to begin and end one mission each single day. Throughout that point, I cranked out the tasks. And so they weren’t small tasks, both. For instance, I constructed a manufacturing facility cart-style espresso desk in someday, begin to end. After which the subsequent day, I might do an analogous mission begin to end. And the subsequent day. And the subsequent day. So throughout that point, as I used to be cranking out the tasks, I used to be additionally cranking out the weblog posts, with one model new DIY mission after one other.

That was actually a good time for my weblog. All of these tasks in such fast succession actually helped to construct my weblog, construct my viewers, and get my weblog “on the map”, nearly talking. But it surely was completely exhausting. And I can not even stress this sufficient. It was my life. I had nothing exterior of labor and Matt. Dwelling that manner was very isolating.

After we purchased this home, I continued with that schedule for a very long time. And it turned much more difficult and extra isolating as Matt’s well being and his capacity to do issues on his personal continued to say no. As an alternative of engaged on another person’s dwelling for lengthy stretches every day, I used to be engaged on our home for 10-13 hours a day. And once more, that’s all my life consisted of. So as soon as once more, I used to be in a position to get tasks finished comparatively rapidly. I did a full down-to-the studs demolition and rebuild of a kitchen virtually fully on my own in 5 months, together with transferring/widening doorways, eradicating a wall, and so on. And I adopted that with a whole down-to-the-studs-and-floor-joists demolition and rework a WC virtually fully on my own in about the identical period of time, together with transferring and widening a doorway and doing the entire drywall and concrete board myself. It was my life. Matt and work. Work and Matt. That’s it.

Right now, issues are very totally different. There’s no manner I may have gone on like that without end. The weblog was doing nice. Constructing my viewers was nice. The earnings was nice. However the work was exhausting, and the isolation was sucking the very life out of me.

In 2020, the world modified. The isolation turned much more pronounced, and I made up my mind to make a change. I noticed that there needed to be extra to life than work. My life wanted an outward focus. I wanted to seek out my individuals. My neighborhood. So I made it my dedication to do precisely that.

And in the previous few years, my life has modified drastically. My focus has gone from work and Matt to Matt and different individuals. That’s to not say that my work isn’t necessary. I nonetheless spend quite a lot of time working. However issues take longer now, and I don’t crank out these completed tasks as quick as I used to. Today, if I’m in the midst of a mission, coated head to toe in mud and caulk, and I’ve a aim of what I need to end by the tip of the day in order that I can weblog about it the subsequent day, however then a buddy calls and invitations me to dinner, I’m going to decide on dinner with a buddy over ending the mission simply in order that I can have progress to share in a weblog put up the subsequent day. Time with a buddy comes first. Sharing progress on my mission can wait one other day.

And that’s my life lately. My tasks don’t get finished as quick, and I’m okay with that. Instead of working 10-13 hours a day, I attempt to get just a few hours in every day and prioritize time with individuals. I’ve mates I really like dearly. I’ve my household who I prioritize two days every week. And as at all times, Matt is my prime precedence each day. I nonetheless attempt to get as a lot finished on tasks as quick as I can, however I’m only one particular person, and I can solely accomplish that a lot. And other people will at all times take precedence in my life over tasks.

However again to 2020. Throughout that yr, like hundreds of thousands of different individuals, I actually struggled. Not solely did I battle to get issues finished, however I struggled with my weblog as properly. I struggled to point out up on the weblog commonly. After which I bought an e mail that actually shook me out of my self-focused mindset. I don’t keep in mind what it mentioned precisely, however the particular person principally mentioned, “Kristi, the place are you? We want you proper now! We want your weblog posts proper now!”

And in that second, I noticed that sure, individuals want a little bit little bit of trip of their hectic lives and the craziness of this world to deal with one thing enjoyable and possibly even frivolous. In order that’s what I’ve decided to offer — just some minutes in your lives every day the place you may put the craziness of the world and your hectic lives out of your thoughts for a bit and examine a enjoyable mission or a enjoyable (or loopy) thought I’ve. I take a look at my weblog lately as not solely instructional (I hope) when have a mission to share, but in addition as a couple of minutes of leisure in your lives the place you will get a glimpse into my mind the place I at all times have a couple of thousand concepts swirling round in there.

So I gained’t at all times have tasks to share. I gained’t at all times have progress to share. Feeling like I can solely ever share progress on my present mission is stress I refuse to tackle anymore. I can’t reside that manner. However on these days once I actually don’t have any progress to share, I at all times have concepts or ideas I can share a couple of future mission or another random thought I’ve swirling round in my mind. That’s what I can present, together with just a few moments out of your day to get your thoughts off of your hectic life and be entertained by the tasks or ideas or plans of a loopy DIYer in little Waco, Texas.

However for these of you who solely need to see progress on my present mission, right here it’s. I bought the island prime painted white and able to marble…

And I bought a lot of the drawer slides connected to the drawer packing containers…