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 after we have been residing in our tiny little condo 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 have been accomplished on evenings and weekends. After which Matt’s well being began to say no to the purpose that I may not hold scheduled conferences with shoppers, or I’d get a frantic cellphone name from him in the course of an set up in a consumer’s dwelling, and I must rush dwelling to assist Matt. Life was hectic 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 beloved 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 outdoors of our apartment.

I don’t know what number of of you have 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 a substitute, they mainly handed over their home to me (a home that they weren’t residing in) and so they let me DIY the heck out of their home. I fully DIYed their bedroom, bathroom, family room, and kitchen. I beloved 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 every part and go dwelling at any second if Matt wanted me. It was sort of a dream job attending to DIY alone 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 hectic. 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” purpose. In different phrases, my problem to myself was to start out 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 factory cart-style coffee table in someday, begin to end. After which the following day, I’d do an analogous mission begin to end. And the following day. And the following 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. However it was completely exhausting. And I can not even stress this sufficient. It was my life. I had nothing outdoors of labor and Matt. Dwelling that method was very isolating.

Once 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 skill to do issues on his personal continued to say no. As a substitute 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 capable of get tasks accomplished comparatively rapidly. I did a full down-to-the studs demolition and rebuild of a kitchen nearly fully on my own in 5 months, together with transferring/widening doorways, eradicating a wall, and so forth. And I adopted that with a whole down-to-the-studs-and-floor-joists demolition and transform a WC nearly 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.

At present, issues are very totally different. There’s no method I may have gone on like that endlessly. 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 spotted that there needed to be extra to life than work. My life wanted an outward focus. I wanted to search out my individuals. My group. So I made it my willpower 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 vital. I nonetheless spend a whole 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 course of a mission, coated head to toe in mud and caulk, and I’ve a purpose of what I need to end by the tip of the day in order that I can weblog about it the following day, however then a pal calls and invitations me to dinner, I’m going to decide on dinner with a pal over ending the mission simply in order that I can have progress to share in a weblog submit the following day. Time with a pal comes first. Sharing progress on my mission can wait one other day.

And that’s my life nowadays. My tasks don’t get accomplished as quick, and I’m okay with that. Instead of working 10-13 hours a day, I attempt to get a couple of hours in every day and prioritize time with individuals. I’ve associates 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 every day. I nonetheless attempt to get as a lot accomplished on tasks as quick as I can, however I’m only one individual, and I can solely achieve this a lot. And other people will at all times take precedence in my life over tasks.

However again to 2020. Throughout that yr, like tens of millions of different individuals, I actually struggled. Not solely did I wrestle to get issues accomplished, however I struggled with my weblog as properly. I struggled to point out up on the weblog often. After which I acquired an e mail that basically shook me out of my self-focused mindset. I don’t keep in mind what it mentioned precisely, however the individual mainly mentioned, “Kristi, the place are you? We want you proper now! We want your weblog posts proper now!”

And in that second, I spotted that sure, individuals want just a little little bit of trip of their hectic lives and the craziness of this world to give attention to one thing enjoyable and perhaps even frivolous. In order that’s what I’ve decided to offer — only a few minutes in your lives every day the place you possibly can 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 nowadays as not solely academic (I hope) when have a mission to share, but in addition as a couple of minutes of leisure in your lives the place you may 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 strain I refuse to tackle anymore. I can’t dwell that method. 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 a couple of 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 acquired the island prime painted white and able to marble…

And I acquired many of the drawer slides connected to the drawer bins…