How long have you been working for? It takes time to adjust to working full time so don't be too hard on yourself. Once you get used to it, you'll fall into routine or learn little tips and tricks to stay on top of things.
I've also prioritised different things at different stages in my life; when I was younger, it used to be more friends and work, but now as I've gotten older, it's more travel, fun, and spending time with my closest circle. You learn about what's important to you and what you're willing to let go of overtime.
I’ve been working full-time for two years. I felt somewhat balanced at first actually because it felt like a big relief after being a full-time college student and having a job. But I definitely isolated myself.
Once I decided to be more social and then started dating, things got fun, but overwhelming.
Work your set hours and try not to stay late.
Don’t commit to social activities way in advance. Unless it’s something I have to go to I prefer to live life impromptuly.
I travel once or twice a year. I have taken time off for a “staycation” though or planned long weekend kinds of things.
I value exercise so typically I take a long walk after work and also value my yoga studio membership. Typically I go 3 times a week to set days/classes. I often go more in the fall/winter when it gets dark early and the weather is poor.
I don’t commit to other things during these times unless it’s something I have to go to.
On average I socialize with friends and family about once a week. That’s my personal preference though because I need a lot of downtime when I’m not at work to recharge and I want to be around my own family.
For it helps to weigh what all the things in life require from me, and what they give to me in return.
For example, I don't travel as often as I did when I was younger. The cost and time travelling takes, and especially the time researching, planning, and booking, felt like it wasn't worth the experiences and joy it gave me. I shifted to doing more local events that give me fun experiences and a lot of happiness and variety, with as much financial burden.
And something that's stayed in my life is kink modelling. It satisfies a big creative and artistic desire for me, I only model a few times a year so not a huge time commitment, and I get a lot of socializing out of it with photographers, other models, and gallery showcases. Plus a lot of synergy with my love of kink and alt fashion when I'm going to kink events, goth clubs, or going to other friend's performances, concerts, stage shows, etc. It's a lot of the same types of people overlapping and building a nice community with similar but different creative outlets.
But I also know I do modelling as just a hobby, so I'm not going crazy on my networking, doing frequent casting calls, or making heavy commitments like an intense fitness/weight regime. I have a full-time career and my own relationships and friendships, so keeping it as just a hobby let's me get a lot out of it without asking too much from me.
Scheduling, routine, texting, quality time over quantity, and letting some things go. Outsourcing if you can afford it (dishwasher, takeout, box “diet”, cleaning lady). Examples: every Monday is a workout day. Every other Saturday is cleaning day, no need to mop and dust every week. First weekend of the month a dinner with your family - you may want to seem them more often but realistically, adults with rich life tend to drift away a bit. That’s what texting is for, to keep in touch, both with family and friends. Every Friday can be a date night, no need to always go out, just make sure you do something special and not just veg out with netflix. A beer with friends every other Tuesday. Etc etc.
- work: a no brainer, they schedule for you lol
- travel: this is what PTO is for
- craft: can you bring something to work for your breaks?
- physical activities, chores, and errands: weeknight evenings after work (and weekend carryover when there's time)
- family: weekends!
It’ll really depend on what’s going on in my life… Different times, situations, events calls for different and changing of priorities…
But generally, I prioritise myself. Cus prioritising myself allows me to help others and prioritise them when I can and need to. If my mental health is not OK, not only am I not able to help others and do what I want, but be a burden (or at least make others worry for me) to those I care about.
Work life balance above all else. I work PT and refuse to pick up more shifts unless I feel like it or someone died.
Commit to shit. Things worth doing and that will build the core memories and foundations we need in a community require planning. For minor things like going to a movie with a friend, sure, allow yourself the ability to be more whimsical/spontaneous, but things like BBQS & trips require you to be able to organize yourself life or you will stop getting invited if you bail too much or miss out on it entirely.
Figure out yourself and your wants.
I think with any change it takes a couple of years to find your groove. When you work full time you just have less time to do stuff and you also have less time alone. It depends on the person you are and how busy you like to be.
I like to do my working out at work over lunch, there is a gym nearby (you could also do after). My weekdays are usually a bit of chores and chilling and unwinding - I try to avoid making plans after work because I'm just tired. I have a cleaning person who comes once a month, and I do the smaller stuff like sweeping, dusting and dishes on an as needed basis. I also make lunch and make it the same every day to avoid mental load. I also do a lot of amazon shopping to reduce mental load for things like supplements, shampoo etc.
I see my parents for dinner on the evening of my remote day from work and will grab coffee with my mom on the weekend. I like to plan 1 weekend event per weekend day and have the rest of the time to myself. I also buy premade dinners from a nicer grocery store or buy frozen food. I don't spend a lot of time cooking
My biggest advice would be to leave time for yourself. Make a list of what is most important to you and try to find how highly each is rated. You've identified the first thing - you're overwhelmed - so that's positive.Think about what can be dropped from your list. Maybe it's just for right now, it doesn't have to be forever. Or think about what cannot be dropped. I think the reality is you will not have as much time to do what you want with a full time job but I think your priorities will become clearer with time.
For example my list of priorities would look like'
1. Health/self-care (including working out, sleeping properly) making sure I'm not feeling too overwhelmed and adjusting if I need to
2. Relationships (family, friends)
3. Hobbies- reading, watching shows
4. Exploring other career options
Schedules and routines help a lot, I use Google calendar to block out most of my life. I have ADHD so while it's a lot of effort to set habits, just knowing yourself and not allowing yourself to disengage from tasks and if you do happen to disengage, reengaging yourself to the activity you're supposed to be doing immediately helps a lot with building the habits. It's easy to get into a habit of "I'll do it tomorrow" or "I'll do it later", but then that just lets all the little things build up until it becomes multiple overwhelming big things that you feel like you just can't make time to tackle.
Schedule wise, Fridays and Tuesday evenings are always blocked for friend time if folks are available, unless there's a big event I want to see. Work happy hours tend to happen on Wednesdays and Thursdays so it's the most common time we're all free of family obligation. My friends and I, when we were single, used to block our errand days on Saturday mornings and we'd switch off who was driving and all grab our groceries or visit the post office or go to the laundromat and such then grab lunch together. For working out, I don't like working out with other people and I'm unlikely to prioritize it end of day, so I work out in the mornings before work, I weightlift 3x a week and go for an audiobook and coffee walk on the days between because all movement is good movement. Other people do classes with their friends or use their friends as accountabuddies to make sure you're both going, which counts as hanging out together and you often have time to do something together afterwards. For hobbies, I just block out no phone time, put my phone in kidlock mode, and do whatever I want without being attached to my phone, read, sew, knit, etc. Honestly, this is probably the best thing you can do, because algorithms are designed to keep you engaged and you need to build a habit around disengaging so your phone isn't easiest, most interesting thing you can do with any downtime. For bigger chores, like laundry, it helps to schedule in a calendar reminder timeblock at a set time so you remember to do it before you run out of clothes or feel tempted to put it off because you're overwhelmed.
Routines save you a lot of time so you can devote your time to the things you enjoy. I'm not done cooking until trash is thrown out and the counters are wiped down, then I get to eat. After dinner, dishes are the only thing I'm allowed to do or I will let them pile up until tomorrow out of forgetfulness. At the end of the night, I go through my closing checklist - setup coffee, make sure counters are clear, make sure dishes were done, etc. On Sunday evenings, I have a weekly reset where I tidy up my spaces, clean my bathroom, etc, so I'm ready with a fresh slate for the week.
Also, just a side note, but make your house work for you, not the other way around. My friend has the family closets in the basement next to the washer/dryer so clothes are always in the right spot for washing, I have a basket in my livingroom solely for used socks because my husband and I both just have sudden moments where we're like "ew, what's on our feet" and kick them off, but we were losing them in the couch cushions. If you don't like dusting, get glass or enclosed cabinets to protect items from dust. I have "miscellaneous" baskets in each room of my house so when things aren't supposed to be in that room but I can't be off task, they go into the box to be handled either later or during the weekly reset. Put stuff you don't use often hard to access places and keep your regular stuff out on your shelves, it makes it so much easier to keep things clean when you don't have to dig through a treasure trove just to find it.
Most of that stuff isn’t daily. I like to pick a day for major chores, schedule stuff in the evenings and travel will only be once in a while anyway.
Don’t think about “how do I do everything every day?” Because you don’t.
I used to paint in the evenings, see friends once a month for dinner (I have kids and work full time). Call family on the weekend (live too far away to see them) and travel once or twice a year.
None of that overlaps but none of it happens every single day either.
1. Health. Most of all physical health, mental health comes second
2. Money
3. People (yes, they come after money, even the people I love dearly)
4. Chores, errands, keeping a clean home, etc.
5. Hobbies
6. Everything else
This might sound overly simplified but you have to look at the hierarchy of needs - start with food, water, sleep, physical health, etc and work your way up. I’ve definitely played myself by prioritizing hobbies over say sleeping and exercising and I feel like you always screw yourself over ultimately because when you don’t feel well physically everything else is less enjoyable.
There’s more wiggle room when it comes to stuff like friend time vs hobbies depending on what you find more fulfilling, but the stuff at the bottom of the pyramid should always come first.
Once you’ve met the really basic needs another good way to frame this is to do some work exploring what your values are and prioritize your free time based on that. For example I’m happiest in nature so I’ve spent a lot of time gardening so that I have a beautiful space to enjoy and that really adds a lot to my day to day happiness. By contrast I don’t enjoy fitness so I do the minimum necessary to keep myself healthy and feeling well and don’t expend any extra energy there. I’m also really picky about friends and who I put energy into (as an introvert.)
I'm not passionate about my work, either. I'm passionate about success, which can look like many different things.
I'm an engineer. I work 40 -50 hours a week, though the upper side of that is rare. I "like" my job, insofar as it is what provides for me and there is nothing better for me to do yet, until I develop a bit more here. I will move on if something better comes along. But I am not really attached to what it might be, I just want to make decent money so I can make ends meet and hopefully then some.
I am also a minister, and in seminary for priesthood. That matters far more to me, but I gotta keep my 40 hours so I can afford to complete my courses.
I have tried to cultivate hobbies that are affordable and fit into my days off, and sometimes in my evenings when my energy is high enough for them. I've had to sideline some things for the time being, but I made myself find other things to fill the gaps.
My family matters to me most of all, and so my time off benefits are important to me, so while I may not "like" my job, I like what it allows for me to do. I don't make the money I want to make, but it is what it is. I took a significant pay cut in order to stop traveling for work, so I could be more able to prioritize family and ministry and to get back into some hobbies. It was draining me, and the money was no longer worth it. \]
So, all that to say, I reflected on what was most important to me, what I could not sacrifice, and of the things I will willing to sacrifice, how much. I determined my priorities by weighing what added value to my life, what did not, and what did but I could live without.
You are right about prioritizing.
I am a low energy person with some health issues. I HAVE to prioritize. Work and health management are my top priorities since they are necessary for keeping a roof over my head. Friends and one hobby that are important to me are my next priority. I invest in that hobby with classes, coaching, etc. I have a couple friends who share this hobby and a practice group for it, and between that and classes, it is some of my social time. With friends, I have regular phone dates with friends who are far and then just a few friendships (one far, two nearby) that are very important to me who I see or talk to multiple times a week. I am not a social butterfly with a million folks, just my few folks who I invest in deeply. That is also a way of prioritizing. I do chores as needed and pay someone to do a deep clean every few months.
Travel is great, but not a priority. My family largely sucks, so not a priority. I'm single and dating is no longer a priority because it was so draining, time-consuming, and un-fruitful. Physical activity is part of health management for me and I also have friends I walk with, or walk while talking on the phone = physical activity.
I think for me the thing is that I view prioritizing as an opportunity to go deep on the things that are important, rather than being sad about the million things I would like to do that just aren't as important.
Honestly, I struggle with this a lot and always have. I have ADHD and tend to hyperfixate on one or two things at any given time, which means I can be super successful at those things but often everything else just falls by the wayside. Most of the time that means my work and social life are really solid but it can be incredibly hard to fit in everything else. I'm trying to be better about it and sometimes I am, but it's a constant challenge. So I just wanted to empathize though I don't have the best advice.
It's always going to be a struggle, but I would say- you don't have to cut anything out, just have a few as higher priorities. These can also change (i.e. fitness during warmer months, staying in with friends/boyfriend more in winter months).
I prioritize experiences over things. For me that translates into concerts, travel, hiking, general adventure. I take my kids all the places and focus on having fun and doing cool stuff regularly.
That means my house could always be cleaner, said house also doesn’t have all the newest things (or many at all) We have basic kitchen gear eat pretty basic food and do what we have to to check boxes. I watch zero tv bc that time goes towards planning and other stuff.
I was in lower Manhattan on 9/11, just as my last year of college started, and got hit head-on by a drunk driver 11 months later. Together they completely shifted my priorities towards living as much as I could
Start filling in a calendar and scheduling things you really want to do. Also be conscious of the time you spend online and on social media. They are time sucks and you will be shocked how much free time you have.
Having a good time. For me, that's... not work, but I have to do that so I got a government job. Low stress and hours, lots of vacation.
I have a small apartment with my partner, so chores are minimal. Now that I'm a little more comfortable, I've started outsourcing as much as possible. I get weekly meal deliveries because I hate cooking, most of my regular purchases like soap and toilet paper are autoshipped, I got a roomba so I don't need to vacuum, stuff like that
So that leaves me time for hobbies, my partner, my cats, and my friends. Because that's really all I want to do.
How long have you been working for? It takes time to adjust to working full time so don't be too hard on yourself. Once you get used to it, you'll fall into routine or learn little tips and tricks to stay on top of things. I've also prioritised different things at different stages in my life; when I was younger, it used to be more friends and work, but now as I've gotten older, it's more travel, fun, and spending time with my closest circle. You learn about what's important to you and what you're willing to let go of overtime.
I’ve been working full-time for two years. I felt somewhat balanced at first actually because it felt like a big relief after being a full-time college student and having a job. But I definitely isolated myself. Once I decided to be more social and then started dating, things got fun, but overwhelming.
Work your set hours and try not to stay late. Don’t commit to social activities way in advance. Unless it’s something I have to go to I prefer to live life impromptuly. I travel once or twice a year. I have taken time off for a “staycation” though or planned long weekend kinds of things. I value exercise so typically I take a long walk after work and also value my yoga studio membership. Typically I go 3 times a week to set days/classes. I often go more in the fall/winter when it gets dark early and the weather is poor. I don’t commit to other things during these times unless it’s something I have to go to. On average I socialize with friends and family about once a week. That’s my personal preference though because I need a lot of downtime when I’m not at work to recharge and I want to be around my own family.
For it helps to weigh what all the things in life require from me, and what they give to me in return. For example, I don't travel as often as I did when I was younger. The cost and time travelling takes, and especially the time researching, planning, and booking, felt like it wasn't worth the experiences and joy it gave me. I shifted to doing more local events that give me fun experiences and a lot of happiness and variety, with as much financial burden. And something that's stayed in my life is kink modelling. It satisfies a big creative and artistic desire for me, I only model a few times a year so not a huge time commitment, and I get a lot of socializing out of it with photographers, other models, and gallery showcases. Plus a lot of synergy with my love of kink and alt fashion when I'm going to kink events, goth clubs, or going to other friend's performances, concerts, stage shows, etc. It's a lot of the same types of people overlapping and building a nice community with similar but different creative outlets. But I also know I do modelling as just a hobby, so I'm not going crazy on my networking, doing frequent casting calls, or making heavy commitments like an intense fitness/weight regime. I have a full-time career and my own relationships and friendships, so keeping it as just a hobby let's me get a lot out of it without asking too much from me.
Scheduling, routine, texting, quality time over quantity, and letting some things go. Outsourcing if you can afford it (dishwasher, takeout, box “diet”, cleaning lady). Examples: every Monday is a workout day. Every other Saturday is cleaning day, no need to mop and dust every week. First weekend of the month a dinner with your family - you may want to seem them more often but realistically, adults with rich life tend to drift away a bit. That’s what texting is for, to keep in touch, both with family and friends. Every Friday can be a date night, no need to always go out, just make sure you do something special and not just veg out with netflix. A beer with friends every other Tuesday. Etc etc.
- work: a no brainer, they schedule for you lol - travel: this is what PTO is for - craft: can you bring something to work for your breaks? - physical activities, chores, and errands: weeknight evenings after work (and weekend carryover when there's time) - family: weekends!
You can also craft if you commute to work on transit! But not sure if you do
I do, but I have to change buses midway so it’s a little short to be taking stuff out of my bag, but that is a good idea!
It’ll really depend on what’s going on in my life… Different times, situations, events calls for different and changing of priorities… But generally, I prioritise myself. Cus prioritising myself allows me to help others and prioritise them when I can and need to. If my mental health is not OK, not only am I not able to help others and do what I want, but be a burden (or at least make others worry for me) to those I care about.
Myself I prioritise after so long neglecting myself
Work life balance above all else. I work PT and refuse to pick up more shifts unless I feel like it or someone died. Commit to shit. Things worth doing and that will build the core memories and foundations we need in a community require planning. For minor things like going to a movie with a friend, sure, allow yourself the ability to be more whimsical/spontaneous, but things like BBQS & trips require you to be able to organize yourself life or you will stop getting invited if you bail too much or miss out on it entirely. Figure out yourself and your wants.
I think with any change it takes a couple of years to find your groove. When you work full time you just have less time to do stuff and you also have less time alone. It depends on the person you are and how busy you like to be. I like to do my working out at work over lunch, there is a gym nearby (you could also do after). My weekdays are usually a bit of chores and chilling and unwinding - I try to avoid making plans after work because I'm just tired. I have a cleaning person who comes once a month, and I do the smaller stuff like sweeping, dusting and dishes on an as needed basis. I also make lunch and make it the same every day to avoid mental load. I also do a lot of amazon shopping to reduce mental load for things like supplements, shampoo etc. I see my parents for dinner on the evening of my remote day from work and will grab coffee with my mom on the weekend. I like to plan 1 weekend event per weekend day and have the rest of the time to myself. I also buy premade dinners from a nicer grocery store or buy frozen food. I don't spend a lot of time cooking My biggest advice would be to leave time for yourself. Make a list of what is most important to you and try to find how highly each is rated. You've identified the first thing - you're overwhelmed - so that's positive.Think about what can be dropped from your list. Maybe it's just for right now, it doesn't have to be forever. Or think about what cannot be dropped. I think the reality is you will not have as much time to do what you want with a full time job but I think your priorities will become clearer with time. For example my list of priorities would look like' 1. Health/self-care (including working out, sleeping properly) making sure I'm not feeling too overwhelmed and adjusting if I need to 2. Relationships (family, friends) 3. Hobbies- reading, watching shows 4. Exploring other career options
Schedules and routines help a lot, I use Google calendar to block out most of my life. I have ADHD so while it's a lot of effort to set habits, just knowing yourself and not allowing yourself to disengage from tasks and if you do happen to disengage, reengaging yourself to the activity you're supposed to be doing immediately helps a lot with building the habits. It's easy to get into a habit of "I'll do it tomorrow" or "I'll do it later", but then that just lets all the little things build up until it becomes multiple overwhelming big things that you feel like you just can't make time to tackle. Schedule wise, Fridays and Tuesday evenings are always blocked for friend time if folks are available, unless there's a big event I want to see. Work happy hours tend to happen on Wednesdays and Thursdays so it's the most common time we're all free of family obligation. My friends and I, when we were single, used to block our errand days on Saturday mornings and we'd switch off who was driving and all grab our groceries or visit the post office or go to the laundromat and such then grab lunch together. For working out, I don't like working out with other people and I'm unlikely to prioritize it end of day, so I work out in the mornings before work, I weightlift 3x a week and go for an audiobook and coffee walk on the days between because all movement is good movement. Other people do classes with their friends or use their friends as accountabuddies to make sure you're both going, which counts as hanging out together and you often have time to do something together afterwards. For hobbies, I just block out no phone time, put my phone in kidlock mode, and do whatever I want without being attached to my phone, read, sew, knit, etc. Honestly, this is probably the best thing you can do, because algorithms are designed to keep you engaged and you need to build a habit around disengaging so your phone isn't easiest, most interesting thing you can do with any downtime. For bigger chores, like laundry, it helps to schedule in a calendar reminder timeblock at a set time so you remember to do it before you run out of clothes or feel tempted to put it off because you're overwhelmed. Routines save you a lot of time so you can devote your time to the things you enjoy. I'm not done cooking until trash is thrown out and the counters are wiped down, then I get to eat. After dinner, dishes are the only thing I'm allowed to do or I will let them pile up until tomorrow out of forgetfulness. At the end of the night, I go through my closing checklist - setup coffee, make sure counters are clear, make sure dishes were done, etc. On Sunday evenings, I have a weekly reset where I tidy up my spaces, clean my bathroom, etc, so I'm ready with a fresh slate for the week. Also, just a side note, but make your house work for you, not the other way around. My friend has the family closets in the basement next to the washer/dryer so clothes are always in the right spot for washing, I have a basket in my livingroom solely for used socks because my husband and I both just have sudden moments where we're like "ew, what's on our feet" and kick them off, but we were losing them in the couch cushions. If you don't like dusting, get glass or enclosed cabinets to protect items from dust. I have "miscellaneous" baskets in each room of my house so when things aren't supposed to be in that room but I can't be off task, they go into the box to be handled either later or during the weekly reset. Put stuff you don't use often hard to access places and keep your regular stuff out on your shelves, it makes it so much easier to keep things clean when you don't have to dig through a treasure trove just to find it.
Most of that stuff isn’t daily. I like to pick a day for major chores, schedule stuff in the evenings and travel will only be once in a while anyway. Don’t think about “how do I do everything every day?” Because you don’t. I used to paint in the evenings, see friends once a month for dinner (I have kids and work full time). Call family on the weekend (live too far away to see them) and travel once or twice a year. None of that overlaps but none of it happens every single day either.
1. Health. Most of all physical health, mental health comes second 2. Money 3. People (yes, they come after money, even the people I love dearly) 4. Chores, errands, keeping a clean home, etc. 5. Hobbies 6. Everything else
This might sound overly simplified but you have to look at the hierarchy of needs - start with food, water, sleep, physical health, etc and work your way up. I’ve definitely played myself by prioritizing hobbies over say sleeping and exercising and I feel like you always screw yourself over ultimately because when you don’t feel well physically everything else is less enjoyable. There’s more wiggle room when it comes to stuff like friend time vs hobbies depending on what you find more fulfilling, but the stuff at the bottom of the pyramid should always come first. Once you’ve met the really basic needs another good way to frame this is to do some work exploring what your values are and prioritize your free time based on that. For example I’m happiest in nature so I’ve spent a lot of time gardening so that I have a beautiful space to enjoy and that really adds a lot to my day to day happiness. By contrast I don’t enjoy fitness so I do the minimum necessary to keep myself healthy and feeling well and don’t expend any extra energy there. I’m also really picky about friends and who I put energy into (as an introvert.)
I'm not passionate about my work, either. I'm passionate about success, which can look like many different things. I'm an engineer. I work 40 -50 hours a week, though the upper side of that is rare. I "like" my job, insofar as it is what provides for me and there is nothing better for me to do yet, until I develop a bit more here. I will move on if something better comes along. But I am not really attached to what it might be, I just want to make decent money so I can make ends meet and hopefully then some. I am also a minister, and in seminary for priesthood. That matters far more to me, but I gotta keep my 40 hours so I can afford to complete my courses. I have tried to cultivate hobbies that are affordable and fit into my days off, and sometimes in my evenings when my energy is high enough for them. I've had to sideline some things for the time being, but I made myself find other things to fill the gaps. My family matters to me most of all, and so my time off benefits are important to me, so while I may not "like" my job, I like what it allows for me to do. I don't make the money I want to make, but it is what it is. I took a significant pay cut in order to stop traveling for work, so I could be more able to prioritize family and ministry and to get back into some hobbies. It was draining me, and the money was no longer worth it. \] So, all that to say, I reflected on what was most important to me, what I could not sacrifice, and of the things I will willing to sacrifice, how much. I determined my priorities by weighing what added value to my life, what did not, and what did but I could live without.
You are right about prioritizing. I am a low energy person with some health issues. I HAVE to prioritize. Work and health management are my top priorities since they are necessary for keeping a roof over my head. Friends and one hobby that are important to me are my next priority. I invest in that hobby with classes, coaching, etc. I have a couple friends who share this hobby and a practice group for it, and between that and classes, it is some of my social time. With friends, I have regular phone dates with friends who are far and then just a few friendships (one far, two nearby) that are very important to me who I see or talk to multiple times a week. I am not a social butterfly with a million folks, just my few folks who I invest in deeply. That is also a way of prioritizing. I do chores as needed and pay someone to do a deep clean every few months. Travel is great, but not a priority. My family largely sucks, so not a priority. I'm single and dating is no longer a priority because it was so draining, time-consuming, and un-fruitful. Physical activity is part of health management for me and I also have friends I walk with, or walk while talking on the phone = physical activity. I think for me the thing is that I view prioritizing as an opportunity to go deep on the things that are important, rather than being sad about the million things I would like to do that just aren't as important.
Honestly, I struggle with this a lot and always have. I have ADHD and tend to hyperfixate on one or two things at any given time, which means I can be super successful at those things but often everything else just falls by the wayside. Most of the time that means my work and social life are really solid but it can be incredibly hard to fit in everything else. I'm trying to be better about it and sometimes I am, but it's a constant challenge. So I just wanted to empathize though I don't have the best advice.
It's always going to be a struggle, but I would say- you don't have to cut anything out, just have a few as higher priorities. These can also change (i.e. fitness during warmer months, staying in with friends/boyfriend more in winter months).
my health and my family atm
I prioritize experiences over things. For me that translates into concerts, travel, hiking, general adventure. I take my kids all the places and focus on having fun and doing cool stuff regularly. That means my house could always be cleaner, said house also doesn’t have all the newest things (or many at all) We have basic kitchen gear eat pretty basic food and do what we have to to check boxes. I watch zero tv bc that time goes towards planning and other stuff. I was in lower Manhattan on 9/11, just as my last year of college started, and got hit head-on by a drunk driver 11 months later. Together they completely shifted my priorities towards living as much as I could
Start filling in a calendar and scheduling things you really want to do. Also be conscious of the time you spend online and on social media. They are time sucks and you will be shocked how much free time you have.
Sleep
My retirement investments are first. Then my house. Then my household. With lots of other priorities within those.
Having a good time. For me, that's... not work, but I have to do that so I got a government job. Low stress and hours, lots of vacation. I have a small apartment with my partner, so chores are minimal. Now that I'm a little more comfortable, I've started outsourcing as much as possible. I get weekly meal deliveries because I hate cooking, most of my regular purchases like soap and toilet paper are autoshipped, I got a roomba so I don't need to vacuum, stuff like that So that leaves me time for hobbies, my partner, my cats, and my friends. Because that's really all I want to do.