Dear The Do It All Girls,

1. You cannot do it all.

I hate to burst your bubble, but no matter how much you think you can, you can’t. There are not 50 hours in a day, there are only 24 and you need to sleep at least 8 of those. Don’t think you can function without your sleep, because you can’t. Eventually, all of the espresso shots in the world won’t be able to keep you awake.

2. Learn to say no.

You’re a people pleaser; I get it. You like to make other people happy and you don’t like to disappoint. “Of course I’ll work your shift,” you say as you think about the pile of homework on your desk. “Of course I’ll join this organization,” you say when you cannot possibly fit one more thing on your calendar. Do It All girls around the world, say it with me now: “NO”. Look at your calendar, if the activities you are participating in aren’t benefitting you or the greater good, why are you doing them? Learn to politely say, "No," to more commitments, you have already have enough on your plate.

3. Don’t spread yourself too thin.

Overcommitting will eventually cause you to be unreliable. You will come to a place where there are too many things going on that you cannot possibly keep track of it all, no matter how organized your Google calendar or Lilly planner is. You also cannot perform equally in all tasks when you are overcommitted; something will suffer, whether it be your social life, your grades, or your health.

4. Prioritize your to-do list.

You know the one. The list that is always growing but never decreasing. To improve your to-do list, start by making a daily list with only 10-15 tasks on it. Next, label these tasks in order of importance. For example, put an "A" beside the tasks that are important and cannot wait until tomorrow, a "B" beside the ones that are kind of important but not "A" worthy, so on and so forth. Lastly, remember that is most definitely okay to not complete everything on your list.

5. Learn to delegate.

You’re one of those people that thinks you can do the task at hand better than anyone else. This certainly might be the case, however, if there is someone around you that can do the task equally as well, delegate it to them. The world doesn’t always have to rest on your shoulders.

6. Stay healthy.

If you are always busy focusing on everyone else and everything you have to do, you probably don’t take time to just breathe. Taking some time to relax and focus on your wellbeing is so important. Go for a run. Do some yoga. Meditate. Do anything that gives you the opportunity to escape from your responsibilities, if only for a little while.

7. Let go.

There will be things that you just can’t accomplish on your to-do list. There will be days where you just ignore all of your responsibilities completely and stay in bed; that is A-okay. Learn to let go of the things you can't change and focus your time and energy on what you can.

Chances are, if you relate to these points, you’re a lot like me. People think the amount of things we try to squeeze into the day is absolutely crazy. Truth is, we think we’re invincible super-women. We always have to say yes. We always have to make others happy. We thrive when the stakes are high and the responsibilities are higher.

The reality is, we aren’t super-women. We are only human. We can only take on so much. We have to learn to delegate, to let go, and to take time to focus on ourselves and the important things in this life.

xoxo,