How I Can Get So Much Done

Someone recently commented "Kimberly, do you ever sleep?" I think this was after I posted on Facebook a new painting I was working on. I do. I sleep a lot. I don't function well when I don't get a lot of sleep. No one wants to be around me when I'm tired. Trust me. I do sleep.

I think social media is incredibly deceiving. Everyone sees all the good stuff I choose to share. They don't see all the crap that goes on that I don't share publicly. Mind you, my life is pretty good. But there is still crap. We all have crap. But here's the deal: I get a lot of shit done on any give day, but there are a lot of reasons why this is possible.

My kids are in school. I'm not chasing after little ones who need my constant attention.

Even when my kids are home, they are pretty independent. They entertain themselves and are getting to an age where they don't want me hovering.

I work from home. I'm not spending all sorts of time commuting to and from my office. I walk downstairs and I'm ready to go. I eat lunch in my kitchen. I can listen to a podcast or read a book while my lunch is cooking.

I have a dedicated studio space where I can leave my projects out in various states of progress. I have multiple canvases in progress, sitting on two work surfaces and I can move back and forth between them. I also leave out all the paints I'm currently using. My studio is neat and orderly, but nothing is tucked away in drawers and boxes ... it's all out and within arms reach of my workspaces. If I have have 15 minutes of free time, I can wall upstairs, throw some paint around and then walk away. No prep time. No extra work to get started. I just walk in and play.

I work fast. When I'm painting, designing (digitally) or writing, I work fast. My inspiration and ideas come in spurts. I ride those waves, work fast and then move on when I have nothing left.

I have help. I don't clean my own house. I haven't really cleaned my own house in years. I have someone who comes in every, single week. I keep the house nice and tidy, but I don't scrub the toilet or the floors. Very early on in our relationship Mike and I decided that investing in a housekeeper was important to us. I don't like housework, but I want a clean and orderly home. A clean house makes me happy and a happy mama means everyone is happy.

I have more help. We have had a regular nanny for years. When I am traveling, our nanny helps Mike with all sorts of things from picking the kids up to helping with dinner. When I'm home, she'll often pitch in with special projects (organizing, purging, etc). She has been such a blessing and I couldn't work and travel like I do without her.

I spend a lot of time alone and in hotel rooms. When I travel I'm by myself. This lends itself to lots of design work, digital scrapbooking, reading, exercising, etc. I pack my days away with lots of activity. It helps the time pass quickly and I'm less lonely that way. Plus, I know I'm pretty lucky to have so much alone time and I want to use it wisely. Not a lot of mamas of two get to take off for a week at a time and enjoy uninterrupted sleep and room service all in the name of work.

So yes ... I do get a lot of shit done and still manage to sleep 7 to 8 hours every night. But thanks to so many wonderful factors, I can use my free time to do the things I love: creating, writing, crafting, painting, playing, reading ... generally enjoying life. Don't let me photos trick you. I'm just like everyone else and have the same hours in a day. I just let go of or outsource  somethings in order to have other things