Slow and Steady

Getting Back Up

This week started off with a bang. Well, a late night really. An anxious night to be more accurate. A night where the looming pressure lost all form of rest and could only be met with tired eyes and a restless mind. I had spent the night before listing all the things I needed to get done this week — including random tidbits and notes that have been mulling around in my head but never got around to. It was all coming to a climax: I had to get a lot done this week.

As the early morning came and my eyes could not stand to stay open any longer, I fell asleep hoping for some relief. I was waking to the same day. The same list of task I had written hours before was prepared and ready for me. I began with a video chat with a new connection in my network. It was, surprisingly, a great start to the day because I got to build a new relationship through learning and sharing about our passions and businesses.

Moreover, I resumed seamlessly with a portfolio branding project which I finally managed to finish. (This task had been on my list of things to do for weeks. It felt great to cross it off my list!) The latter part of the day was spent tweaking graphics for a client until I got the okay and work for the day was done. I was over the moon, since I also got to spend time with my family at the movies all evening. I knew that if I kept up with this momentum, this would be a great week.

The next day, I caught up with some blog post writing and planning. I even started work on a client’s website design. I mocked-up their website pages using Squarespace. It was great practice designing and organizing the content with the platform. I even went to the gym and took a Zumba class after what seemed like ages! I was feeling good. But I knew that I was starting to stray away from my focus: the tasks on my list.

Mid-week and I was lost again with client work. All of the due date on my list had shifted one day, two days now and there was no going back. That’s how it all starts isn’t it? We are hyper-focused and then it all hits the fan and we are left just trying to pick up the pieces. Or we settle for what we have, resolve to start again next week and look toward the weekend. That’s what I did.

This weekend was a lot of fun, despite my efforts to be super productive. I went to an open house at a dance studio in Vancouver. Since the summer, I have seriously been considering taking salsa dance classes. I felt that the open house was my last hurdle before fully diving in.

The open was great! I took several introductory classes to Kizomba, Bachata, Salsa and Zouk. It was a new world. Different steps, different styles and feel for music and movement. I had a great experience and felt very happy to have taken part. I knew then and there that this was something new that made me happy and feel alive. This was a great escape from the task list.

Come Sunday morning, I was in the mood to relax. After yesterday’s dancing festivities, I was thrown into cheering for my dad in the opening of his weekly basketball game. It had been a while since I watched my dad play. Not only was it nostalgic, but really fun.

We all get those weeks where we feel like we have not done enough. Maybe we gave up too early. If only we had held on longer, stuck it through. Well, I cannot be sure if the week had gone differently that it would have been better. I am sure with better time management more things could have been accomplished. But it is a process to find the perfect balance for ourselves. For one, we are not machines to execute perfect efficiency, nor are we meant to waste away our days in idleness or fear.

This world will shake us and move us. Life will push and pull us closer and farther to our dreams and nightmares. Yet to navigate through our situations and challenges, we can only look forward, and take each step slow and steady. ■