Lets chat about being Busy All Day, But Nothing Feels Done
Is it just me, or does time vanish?
Some days feel like they disappear before I’ve even found my footing.
I wake up with the best intentions. There’s a list I’ve made the night before, a plan I’ve mapped out in my head. I know what I want to focus on. I know what matters. I even know what I’ve said I’ll prioritise… spelling with my daughter, reading practice, maybe a batch of banana muffins or a load of washing, maybe that one camping trip I planned for the month.
Then it’s 4pm.
And somehow I haven’t studied.
We haven’t really done much homeschool.
The house is no closer to clean.
The muffins didn’t happen.
I’ve messaged no one back.
I haven’t posted anything, and we didn’t even go outside for long.
The day felt full, but I can’t quite name what it was full of.
I see others, friends, people online, fitting in so much. Study. Schoolwork. Nature play. Cleaning. Baking. Intentional living. Adventures.
The things I value deeply.
The things I try to make time for.
The things I planned to make time for.
And I start wondering...
Is it just me?
Am I doing something wrong?
Do their days move slower than mine?
Are they more focused, more structured, more disciplined?
Because I’m trying. Really, I am.
I make lists. I stay up late to plan. I set reminders. I print out worksheets. I tell myself this week will be better. And still the time escapes me.
I feel like I'm on a constant state of ‘I just didn't get time’, ‘I'm not doing enough’ even with homeschooling, I know in theory that children learn at their own pace. That growth doesn’t follow a rigid timeline. I’ve read the research. I’ve studied. I’ve lived the experience of knowing what works best for my family.
And still, I worry my daughter (who is homeschooled) is ‘behind.’ Even when I know she's not.
I’ve got a paid-up Certificate III in Sustainability sitting untouched, even though I know it would be valuable. Even though I love the topic. I just can’t switch my brain into that mode. I’m so focused on mental health, on nature connection, on planning for counselling and future therapy work, that everything else feels blurred around the edges.
I’ve planned one small camping trip per month this year. Just one.
We’ve gone on zero.
And no, I’m not sharing this as a neat little story with a moral or a solution at the end.
I’m still living inside the questions.
Still circling the same thoughts on repeat.
Still wondering why it feels like there are plenty of hours in the day and yet so little time to actually do the things that matter most to me.
It’s not just about productivity. It’s about meaning. Connection. Intentionality. Feeling like I showed up for the things I care about. Some days I feel like I’m busy all day and still somehow absent from my own plans.
This isn’t a complaint. It’s a reality.
It’s ADHD. It’s motherhood. It’s overthinking. It’s trying to hold multiple dreams in two small hands and realising they slip through the gaps.
Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to fully finish something before moving onto the next thing. To sit in a task without spiralling into three more. To study, clean, rest, teach, and create, all in the same day, and still feel like there’s room to breathe.
And maybe some people really do manage all of it. Maybe they’ve cracked the rhythm. Maybe they’ve found their systems, or their energy flows differently, or their brains don’t do the same loops mine does.
Or maybe they feel this too, and they’re just better at hiding it.
Either way, I wanted to say this out loud.
In case you’ve felt it too.
In case you’ve looked at your to-do list and felt like a stranger to it.
In case you’ve wondered how you can love your life and still feel stretched by it.
I don’t have a tidy answer.
I’m not writing from the other side of the learning.
I’m right in it.
Still hopeful. Still messy. Still working it out.
Still making the lists. Still getting through some of it. Still starting over again tomorrow.
