How to Juggle All the Things You Do

Summary

Susan Brearley shares her approach to managing multiple responsibilities, likening it to a circus performer spinning plates, emphasizing the importance of holding space and letting things spin.

Abstract

In a conversation with her protege Deandre, Susan Brearley is asked how she manages to balance her various roles and responsibilities, which include running businesses, leading, writing, and working multiple jobs. Instead of directly answering, Susan uses the metaphor of a circus performer spinning plates to illustrate her method of maintaining balance without becoming overwhelmed. She emphasizes the importance of meditation, contemplating the right advice, and simply holding the space for things to happen. This approach is not just about time management but also about mental and emotional balance, allowing her to juggle her diverse commitments effectively.

Opinions

Susan acknowledges the challenge of finding enough time to read amidst her busy schedule.
She believes in the power of meditation, having practiced it for over a million and a half minutes in the past two years.
Susan values the sharing of stories and experiences as a means to inspire both herself and others.
She suggests that success in managing multiple tasks comes from a place of stillness and balance, rather than constant action.
Susan's metaphor of spinning plates implies that maintaining balance in life is an active, ongoing process that requires attention and presence.
She conveys a sense of satisfaction and enlightenment in her ability to "hold the space" for her various endeavors, suggesting that this is a key to her success.

My Protege Asked

“How do you do it?” Deandre asked me this evening.

“How do I do what? That’s a big open question.”

“Manage all the things you do?”

“All what things? Be specific.”

“You know, the businesses — the AirBnB, leading, the Garden of Neuro, your publications, all your jobs — at Chipotle’s, at the hospital, cooking — how do you find time to do it all? I mean — I guess, how do you find time to read?”

“Well, I don’t find enough time to read.”

“I guess what I mean is — how do you balance everything — without it overwhelming you?”

Now that was an interesting question. I wondered about what to tell him. I moved across the living room to the largest leather chair where I could be comfortable and put my cranberry juice down on a coaster as I thought.

Should I tell him that I meditated over a million and a half minutes over the past 2 years?

Should I share stories of success or failure? I remained quiet a little longer, waiting for just the right thing to pop into my mind, to help make it clear, inspire him, and also inspire myself. The long pause was palpable.

“Have you even seen these circus performers? They pick up a long pole, and hold it in the air, like this — ,” I mimed the motions with my body as I spoke, “and then, they grab a plate and put it on top of the pole, and start spinning it.”

I kept up the motions. “Then they grab another pole and plate, and before long they have spinning plates and poles on their head and shoulders, fingers and toes — and they just hold them there as the plates keep spinning.”

I sat in the chair, upright, with my arms and legs, hands and feet outstretched, holding perfectly still, as I held the imaginary poles and spinning plates. Then I grew silent, as I held them, and held the space. I saw the light in his eyes as his eyebrows lifted and he stood just a skosh taller.

“I get it. I totally get it.”

“I just hold the space and let the plates spin.”

Susan Brearley is the Founder of the Garden of Neuro Institute, a place where women can play and learn about voice, agency and leadership through building community and holding space for learning to happen.

An Inquiry

How to Juggle All the Things You Do

My Protege Asked