Do I have a secret for you? Yes, Yes, Yes I do!
Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed by life and not sure how you're going to do it all or fit it all in? Well, for starters you're not. Humans are not designed to be everything, we are designed to be specialised. That's why we all have different gifts, talents and abilities. That's why some people become lawyers and others become builders.
Before I change your life completely for the better, let me tell you my story....
As you may be aware my son was in a medically induced coma in the middle of 2023. That one event changed everything for our family and what has followed has been multiple specialist appointments which will be forever ongoing. We have also had further surgery and hospital visits so it's weird to say that everything is okay but...
Following on from this experience I had the opportunity to speak to a medical trauma counsellor. In my most recent visit, I shared with her my life hack for leading life when emergency strikes. Her reply was, that what I had conceptualised, was so phenomenal she would be sharing it with her other clients.
Are you ready for it?
Here’s the life hack….
PIE!
No, I don’t mean, sit down and eat a piece of pie. It’s a little more mathematical than that but stay with me. Do you remember in school when you learned about pie charts? They look something like this:
Each piece of the chart is usually a different colour and is a visual representation of a whole, meaning 100%. Now, consider your life as a whole. There are many pieces to your life. There is career, family, sport, hobbies, food, sleep, wellbeing etc. The list goes on and on until you are overwhelmed and burnt out unless… you put it all into a pie chart. You can do this literally or just figurately. Each piece of your pie chart will not be equally distributed. For example, the career piece may be much larger than the eating piece as we tend to spend much more time at work than eating meals for example.
All of that being said, now comes the hard part… prioritising. There are some things in life we need to do and there are some things we want to do. Categorise these items then place your needs such as sleep and exercise onto the pie chart. Then place your wants on your pie chart. You will see that it fills up very quickly which is why you need to make important decisions about how you spend your time. Decide what you need and want to do and how much time you will devote to that.
For me, I have a section on my pie chart called, ‘emergencies’. Although this sounds depressing and dramatic what I have learned is that if you’re not prepared for emergencies it can be hard to cope and it can make a hard situation much worse. So, when we need to rush off to the hospital, I don’t worry about the housework or my other responsibilities because I’ve structed my life in a way where they are taken care of. When we are not having an emergency, because, let’s face it, they are not called emergencies for no reason, that piece of the pie chart for me is ‘wellness’. That is the place I prioritise my heath and wellness needs because when I do that, I am strong and capable to approach emergencies when they arise and I am better version of me.
I imagine that when you undertake this task you will need to get rid of some things in your life. This isn’t always easy and change can be hard. I’m going through this right now as I consider my involvement on school governing councils and parent and friends committees all while accepting an offer to do my Juris Doctor at university. This will be my 4thuniversity degree so I am aware of the commitment needed to complete such a task. I think the inevitable outcome will be that my participation in schools is decreased but I will cross that bridge later.
Also, remember when I said we are not designed to do it all but to specialise. Decide what you want to specialise in. What’s your personal brand? This works for everyone, especially stay at home mums. Become an expert in something, it might a hobby, career or even a personality trait. It might be growing tomatoes or making treasure boxes but decide what your life niche is. That’s good for personal morale but you will also attract the right people into your circle when you have a confident personal brand. PIE life theory can help you do that.
I’ve found my PIE life theory to be extremely effective, if only for my mental health and well being. My PIE chart has never been written down but I have a clear visual in my head which I lean into. Although adaptable at anytime, I feel confident to say no when I need to and not take on too much. I also feel confident not to place all my eggs in one basket. I also feel happier because I know that all the important things are getting done.
PIE life theory works for me and it will work for you too. Like I said, my medical trauma counsellor is now using it with her other clients. PIE life theory helps me maintain and run a happy home with a happy mum. PIE life theory is the secret to being Home Centred.
I’d love to hear how PIE life theory works for you and your family. Reach out on home-centred@outlook.com or on our socials to see how we can support you with PIE life theory or any of your other Home Centred needs.
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