More and more of us are picking up side hustles and projects left, right and centre, but with it comes the burden of over-committing ourselves, which often leads to burnout and undue stress. Yeah, I’m talking about myself here I guess!

If you’re a bit like me, and I’m assuming you are by being a regular reader of Pepetoe, you might be in this situation right now. It’s just with these side jobs we’re picking up – it’s also with extra tasks at work, extra social gatherings, and extra chores at home. But where do we draw a line?

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Since I was young, and it definitely stems from my academic over-achievement, I have always strived to do more. Be more productive, get more things done in the day, feel better about myself. Maybe it’s also a sense of one-upping my peers, by having more things to do than them. I went to a school where it was compulsory to play a sport, join an extra-curricular club (both after-school and in lunch-time), and do well at academics. A lot of pressure was placed on me at quite a young age.

As I’ve grown older, this mentality is still drilled into me. I can’t simply just do one thing a day, and so after my 9-5, I’m up until the early hours of the night ticking off more things from my to-do list and finding new ways to ultimately exhaust myself. The thing is, my to-do list in constantly growing! No matter how much I do, it seems like there’s always more there – and I keep adding to it.

It has come to a point where I need to get my priorities straight, and look at what extracurriculars I’m doing that uplift me, and not drain me. Truth is, I love all the little hobbies (ok, big hobbies) I do outside of my main job – from Pepetoe to Social Media By El; from training to be a Personal Trainer, to learning new skills and hobbies. Especially in the world of social media, it feels like there’s always more I can be doing, whether that’s strategising my own channels, or obtaining new leads and clients. All in all, the burnout and stress have been outweighing the positives of everything I do.

So, What’s My Plan?

Don’t worry, Pepetoe isn’t going anywhere, and neither is my new venture, Social Media By El. These are things that truly bring me joy, even if I’m having a mare of a day trying to get everything done. Although I’m always up for having new clients, I think it’s time I focus on the clients I currently have, and ensure that I streamline my time-management and efficiency correctly, before adding more to my plate.

I’m in the process of creating a weekly calendar/plan, whereby I’ll analyse my priorities and time-blocking them out during my week. Weekends WILL be for rest, and not client work! By doing this, I can ensure that my days off are exactly that; working a few hours after 5pm to get things done on my end isn’t the end of the world!

Moving forward, my attention is primarily going to be on this blog, and my podcast, because it’s my own journal, my diary, my friend. It’s where I go to get all my feelings out, and hopefully in the process aid you with yours.

So, if this post aligns with you in some way (and I’m sorry if it does!) let’s work together to ensure we don’t face anymore burnout in 2025 (I’m one breakdown away before I completely burn out!). Join the Pepetoe community for more posts just like this, and find me on Instagram too <3