I always hate it when people tell me that I can’t do everything. My default answer is: “WHY NOT?” Yes, I’m a bit of an over-committer and an over-achiever. Anybody who knows me also knows this. But that’s not my problem, here. My REAL problem is: I have too many interests.
And I don’t just mean hobbies or things I do for fun. I mean I could literally pick like a dozen different things and make a career out of them and never get sick of doing them. I like to call it being multitalented. If you’ve been here for any amount of time you’ve probably heard me talk about this “multitalented” thing before…
Here’s the thing: I’m a multitalented person. I do lots of different things and a lot of those things I like equally. In fact, I like them so much, I could explore them forever and not get bored. For some, this might sound like a blessing. But it can also be a curse. Because us multitalented creatives have SO MANY THINGS on our plate, we often find it difficult (or even impossible) to find time to do EVERYTHING. It’s like ordering a dozen appetizers instead of a main dish – you don’t know what to eat first, so you end up eating almost nothing at all.* You might get frustrated at your lack of direction. You might even get envious of the person next to you who is fully focused on That One Thing™ they want to do with their life. Why are they so sure of their desires and you’re not sure of yours? Are you indecisive? Do you lack drive? Or purpose? Let’s find out.
*yes yes I realize that was a bad analogy but I HAD TO TALK ABOUT FOOD OK???
YOU DON’T NEED A NICHE
Some people are specialists. And some people are multitalents. One is not better than the other. EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. Whether you’re interested in specializing in That One Thing™ or you are interested in exploring Lots Of Things™, you’re still a creative and passionate individual and THE WORLD NEEDS YOU. But today I’m speaking for the people like me – the people who feel called to take SEVERAL paths, not just one. Because in a world that is constantly yelling at us from all sides, “Pick a major!” “Choose a niche!” “Get a job!” IT CAN BE SUPER DISCOURAGING to be a multitalent. Sometimes we even feel like maybe we’re not talented at all, because we don’t excel at just one thing, and instead we’re good at lots of things. Therefore, we are confused. We don’t know what to do.
DON’T FALL FOR THIS TRAP. Don’t fit yourself into a box. I believe that multitalents need room to spread their wings and fly in whatever direction the wind takes them. MAYBE THIS IS YOU. Maybe you feel like you can’t pin yourself down to just one thing. Maybe, like me, you’ve already realized that you want to take more than one path in life and you’re beginning to feel like YOU CAN’T DO EVERYTHING. If so, this post is for you.
YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING (without going insane)
Will it be hard? Yes. It will be treacherous. You will want to give up, ring the bell, go home crying, etc. But I promise IT WILL BE WORTH IT. But before I get into divulging the secret bulletproof lifestyle that allows me to do #allthethings, I first want to tell you about my failed attempts to do all the things.
Once upon a time, I thought that the best way to be a multitalented creative was to spend a little bit of time each day working on everything. Let’s say I have ten different things I want to do; I spend ten hours of my day doing each one of those things. MAKES SENSE, RIGHT?? An hour of writing, an hour of practicing music, an hour of video editing, an hour of making waffles, etc….YOU GET THE IDEA. This might seem like a legit way to do things (and it might even work for some people!) but it didn’t work for me. And here’s why:
I work best when I binge-work – and by that I mean take an entire day to do nothing but this one project. A little bit at a time isn’t really my thing – I’ve tried it and IT JUST DOESN’T WORK FOR ME. A friend told me recently that this is probably because I lose momentum when I have to continually stop what I’m doing and move onto the next project. And she was 100% right. So I started doing things differently. I started devoting a full day every week to each thing that I want to do. And it works.
HERE’S HOW I DO #ALLTHETHINGS:
I take one day and focus on one project. Such as writing. Let’s say I have two chapters of my novel to write (in order to reach a goal, or something.) I’ll do that on Monday. Then on Tuesday, I’ll work on music – composing, practicing, recording, whatever. Wednesday is the day I spend working on a Top Secret Online Course Project™ with my dad (and if I have any time left, I squeeze in a bit of writing.) Thursday is either a music day or a writing day – depending on my current deadlines. Friday is the day I write, format, and schedule a blog post (ooooh behind the scenes look!) and sometimes also the day I film a video. On Saturday, I video edit and try to chill out…which is harder than it sounds (both of those things.) Sunday is the day I do ALL my social media management, answer blog comments, and reply to emails. Then the weekly cycle continues.
This really truly works for me. I’m not saying it works for everyone, but…GIVE IT A TRY. You might be pleasantly surprised by the results! If you EVER say to yourself: “Ugh! I wish I had more time to do ____!” then I urge you to change the way you spend your time. You have nothing to lose by trying something new!!
PRINT MY CHEAT SHEET
I’m super pumped about this. It’s a literal cheat sheet! It’s like a survey! It’s fun! It involves waffles! All you have to do is print it and fill it out – and you’ll be off to a great start on your multitalented journey. We all need a little help getting started, don’t we?? Well, that’s what I’m here for. (I’m also here to shout my loud opinions into the void, but, you know…small details.) CLICK ON THIS IMAGE TO GET THE PRINTABLE:
TALK, BRO
What do you think? Are YOU a multitalent or a specialist?? BOTH ARE AWESOME BTW!! Do you ever wish you had more time to do the things you love to do? TRY THIS METHOD. I really think you’ll like it. Are you going to print off that cheat sheet?? I hope so because if not: YOU’RE MISSING OUT. What are your talents? What are your interests? What are your goals?? LET’S TALK FOR GOODNESS SAKE.
