New professional chapter: from "everyone else first" to "I'm on my list too"

Let's take a hop back to 2023.

I had left my job and signed up for a wonderful coaching certification.

The certification courses were asynchronous.

Great, I'll do the courses whenever I have time.

A choice I made based on an old L2 - the Autopilot State programming: everyone else first and then me.

It seemed reasonable to me - I can work on my career change when kiddo is napping, after kiddo goes to bed.

But here's the truth. I never knew how long the naps were gonna be. Also, there were other things I had to take care of - around the house, phone calls, and more.

And then bedtime became so rushed. "Come oooooonnnnn, go to bed so I can get to the computer." And then surprise, I was exhausted by the time I got to the computer.

I could feel myself getting so anxious and frustrated.

I really didn't want to get to my courses frustrated - not much good happens in that state.

So, I decided to see if I could make a change.

I asked myself - what would I like to experience?

I would love to have a time-slot where I know I can focus on my courses, and eventually my client calls. I would like to have some certainty that, each day, I would have the opportunity to learn my new trade.

Awesome, so... how do I do that?

The idea of making a change felt very much in my blind spot - at the time it absolutely did not seem feasible.

I talked to my husband about it.

I asked him if he could take kiddo from 10-12, while I worked on my courses.

He said... umm... no... I'm working at that time.

But, but, but... I finish work at 3 pm. I can take him from 3-5 pm if that works for you.

That's the time kiddo would generally nap. That's perfect!

So that's what we did.

I updated my L2 - the Autopilot State programming from "everyone else first" to "I get my time, everyday of the workweek from 3-5 pm."

This meant that instead of falling into L3 - the Conflicted State because I was not getting any time to work on my courses, I was finding myself more often in L1 - the Aligned State because I had the chance to advance a project that was very important for me.

And then there was an incredible bonus that came out of the 3-5 pm time chunk. My husband started dinners. And I found out - he's a really good cook!

We are often faced with competing priorities, at work - at home - and at the intersection of the two. The decisions we make seem inevitable, but they are rooted in our mindset, in our belief system. We often have more choices than we think we do, and they can even end up becoming win-wins all around.

If you were to rewrite the story of how you're being pulled in so many directions - what would it sound like?

9 coaching’s Bingo! session

I am hosting a free Bingo! session on competing priorities. This will be a light-hearted space to play, share your story (if you would like to), connect with others who are facing similar realities, and start to explore what your intentions are and how you can re-write that part of your life.

To learn more check out Burnout Bingo!

See you there :)