You Can't Do Everything at Once (although I wish I could)

You probably can have many of the things you want in life.

A fulfilling career... meaningful relationships... personal growth... a life that feels rich and purposeful.

But very rarely do all of those things arrive at the same time and move forward at the same pace.

Most of us carry an invisible pressure that we should somehow be able to do everything. Build our careers, show up for our families, look after our health, maintain friendships, pursue our ambitions and keep everything moving forward simultaneously.

In reality, life rarely works like that.

In this episode of Career Clarity Insights, I talk about something many of us quietly struggle with - the belief that we should be able to keep every plate spinning at once.

Over the past few weeks I found myself in a particularly busy period of work and travel, and for the first time in nearly two years I chose not to publish a podcast episode. Instead of forcing it, I paused. That small decision sparked a reflection about priorities, seasons and the importance of being intentional about where we put our time and energy.

Because life moves in phases.

Sometimes your career needs your focus.
Sometimes family or health needs more attention.
And occasionally you experience those rare moments where things feel beautifully balanced for a while.

But expecting every area of life to operate at full capacity all the time is one of the fastest routes to burnout.

In this episode we explore:

• Why life moves in seasons rather than perfect balance
• How to recognise what deserves your energy right now
• Why trying to do everything at once leads to exhaustion
• How the Wheel of Life can help you zoom out and gain clarity
• The importance of intentional trade-offs in career and life

The goal is not to do everything.

The goal is to decide what matters most right now, focus there with intention, and allow other things to move more slowly for a while.

If you would like a simple way to reflect on this, you can download the Wheel of Life tool here.

It is a powerful exercise that helps you step back, review where your energy is currently going, and decide where you want to focus next.

Because clarity creates confidence.
Confidence leads to action.
And action builds momentum.

And sometimes the most powerful step you can take is simply pausing long enough to ask yourself:

What matters most to me right now?

I truly hope you enjoy this episode, 

Elsa x

Transcript

You probably can have many of the things that you want in life, but it does not happen by accident. You need to be intentional. The real skill is learning how to decide what matters most to you right now and giving yourself permission to focus there without feeling guilty.

Hello and welcome to Career Clarity Insights. I am Elsa Hogan, and this is where I share my reflections and practical ideas to help you build a career and life that you love.

Let’s jump in.

As much as I would sometimes like to think I can, I cannot do everything at once, and neither can you. It might sound obvious when you say it out loud, but it is something many of us quietly struggle with.

The past couple of weeks have been particularly busy for me with work and travel, and last week I missed my usual time to record this podcast. Normally I would try to squeeze it in either at the start or end of the day. I often batch record and batch edit my podcast as well, but this time I decided to pause instead.

That small decision made me reflect on something that comes up again and again in conversations about careers and life. Many people carry the belief that they should somehow be able to do everything. Build their career, show up for their families, take care of their health, maintain friendships and pursue personal ambitions. There are so many things that we feel like we should be doing well, and often it feels like they all arrive at the same time.

It creates a quiet pressure that many of us carry. The belief that we should be able to keep every area of life moving forward simultaneously.

But in reality, life rarely works like that.

Most of the time, life moves in seasons.

There are periods where work needs more of your attention. There may be moments where your children or your family need you more than usual. Sometimes you decide to push for a promotion or take on a new challenge. And occasionally you might experience a period where things feel beautifully balanced for a while.

But expecting every area of your life to operate at full capacity all the time is one of the fastest routes to exhaustion.

Over the past few weeks, with lots of areas of my life feeling particularly busy, I had to pause and ask myself a simple question. What is my priority right now? What season am I in?

It also meant recognising that I do not have to keep every plate spinning. I can put a few of them down for a while. And while I do not like letting anyone down, the reality is that I also need to look after myself and my own mental wellbeing. Not just for me, but for everyone who relies on me too.

The goal is not to do everything all the time.

The goal is to decide what matters most to you right now and give it your attention without feeling guilty about the other things that you choose to slow down or temporarily pause.

One of my favourite tools for doing this is something called the Wheel of Life. I talk about it quite often. If you have never come across it before, it is essentially a circle divided into different areas of life. Things like career, family, health, finances, relationships and personal growth.

When you take a moment to score each area from one to ten, you begin to see a visual picture of what areas of your life are working well and which areas might need more attention.

It can be incredibly revealing.

It also helps you recognise where you might want to focus your energy. And if there are several areas that are not necessarily serving you, it does not mean you need to fix them all at once.

For example, you might realise that your career is thriving, but your health has quietly slipped. You may decide that the right move for the next few months is to put more energy into your wellbeing. But because your energy is finite, that might mean slowing down in another area of life for a while.

The Wheel of Life gives you a moment to pause, zoom out and see the bigger picture.

If you would like to try that exercise, I have a simple version of the Wheel of Life available on my website. You can find it at elsahogan.com/resources. It is a really useful way to pause and reflect and become clear about the one or two areas of life you want to focus on right now, and the things you may choose to pause.

With most things in life, it is not about finding perfect balance. Perfect balance rarely exists. It is simply about awareness.

Once you have that awareness, things start to become clearer. And when you have clarity, it becomes much easier to take focused action.

As you know from my four step confidence framework, clarity leads to confidence, confidence leads to action and action builds momentum.

I talk about seasons quite often because it is important to recognise that nothing is permanent. You might decide that right now you want to prioritise your health. Once you build a strong routine and gain momentum there, you may decide to shift your focus to another area of your life.

We all have the same amount of time and our energy is finite. So recognising what you are willing to pause or slow down in order to focus on what matters most is incredibly important.

Life evolves. Circumstances change. Opportunities appear. But what matters most is recognising where you are right now and focusing on what deserves your energy in this moment.

For me, that meant recognising that last week it simply was not realistic to record, edit and publish a podcast episode. For nearly two years I have released something every single Sunday, but last week I made the intentional decision to pause.

There was simply too much going on and I wanted to be kind to myself rather than feel guilty about it.

And you can do that too.

You can protect your energy.

Whether that means taking rest, setting boundaries, stepping away for a moment or simply recognising that you are not in the right headspace for something right now.

One of the biggest changes I made last year was moving to a nine day fortnight working pattern. I was initially worried that it might impact my career, but in reality I absolutely love it and I would not go back.

My role can be quite demanding, and every second week when Thursday arrives I often feel ready for a break. Knowing that Friday is there waiting for me gives me space to slow down, focus on my podcast, my coaching and my content, and simply reset.

But that did not happen by accident. I had to pause and reflect on what was working for me and what was not.

Once I gained clarity on what I really wanted, I took action. And it has made a huge difference.

You can do the same.

Even something as simple as stepping back every few weeks and asking whether the way you are spending your time still aligns with what matters most can make a huge difference.

When you start thinking about life in this way, something interesting happens. The pressure to do everything begins to soften.

Instead of trying to maximise every area of life at the same time, you can focus on what matters most right now and allow other things to move more slowly for a while.

That is how you build a sustainable life.

A life where you can grow in your career, be present for the people you care about and still protect your health and wellbeing.

But it does not happen by accident.

You need to be intentional.

So if you take one thought away from this episode, let it be this.

You probably can have many of the things you want in life. A fulfilling career, meaningful relationships, personal growth and a life that feels rich and purposeful.

But very rarely will all of those things move forward at the same time and at the same pace.

And that is okay.

The real skill is learning how to decide what matters most to you right now and giving yourself permission to focus there without feeling guilty about slowing down in other areas.

If this episode resonated with you, please follow Career Clarity Insights on Spotify so you do not miss future conversations about building a career and life you love.

Thank you for listening and I will see you in the next episode.