For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a juggler.
OK, not the juggler you probably are thinking of.
I haven’t tossed balls in the air, let alone swords. And I’ve never breathed any fire.
The type of juggling I’ve mastered hasn’t helped me bustle on the street corners. It hasn’t made me the life of the party.
But it has helped me navigate the complexities of life.
What have I juggled? Responsibilities and priorities. Confidence and doubt. And solitude and community.
Managing this elaborate juggling act hasn’t been easy. But the struggle has made me stronger.
To understand why, it’s important to look at the mechanics of juggling.
While we are often mesmerized by the shiny optics of juggling — the objects pirouetting through the air, the hands deftly negotiating the process of catching an object and tossing it back in the air — it is something that which we cannot readily see that drives the action.
Time.
Time is both stubborn and relentless. It moves at the same rate, never expanding or reducing itself to our needs. In a world full of uncertainty, it’s the one constant we refer back to.
These characteristics make time both finite and universal. And it leaves us with a choice. We must either use time to our advantage, or watch it become our detriment.
Juggling requires us to look these brutal facts square in the face, and not back down. For if we fail to master time, we are toast.
In the case of the street juggler, this means the objects come crashing to the ground. The show is over. The opportunity to win hearts and minds (and dollars) vanishes into thin air.
In a more general sense, failing to use time to our advantage means racking up opportunity costs. It means wondering What if?
In either case, time demands a rhythm. We cannot add a 25th hour to the day, just as the street juggler can’t make the objects they’re tossing freeze in midair.
We must do what we can to make the most of the limited time we have — whether for spectacle or for survival.
I had to come to terms with this reality when I started business school.
My life was already busy at the time I enrolled. I was balancing a demanding full-time job, a tri-weekly exercise regimen and my weekly Words of the West articles. I was also heavily involved in my alma mater’s local alumni chapter, and I tended to cook dinner from scratch. If I had any time left over, I’d spend it with friends.
Suddenly, I had a new set of obligations — classes, homework, group projects — to fit into my existing day-to-day. And time wasn’t about to stand still.
So, I made some tough decisions. I cut out most homecooked meals — a prudent decision, as I was in class several evenings a week anyway. I dedicated specific nights for writing Words of the West articles, instead of waiting for inspiration to strike me. And I moved my workouts from late afternoon to the crack of dawn.
But even with my meticulous planning, I found myself in a rut. For I had failed to recognize a key fact — daily life is far from uniform.
Some weeks were more challenging than others at work. Some weeks had more assignments or exams than other at school. And some mornings my workouts took longer than others, because I was too exhausted to go any faster.
These sound like simple concepts, but I had not planned for them. How could I? After all, there was no slack in my schedule when things were going well.
Still, I needed to get everything done. No matter how crazy a particular week got, work and school were non-negotiable. And I needed those workouts to stay in shape physically and stay sane mentally. Cutting any of these items out of my routine was out of the question.
So, I started juggling. I got up earlier, stayed up later and immersed myself in whatever task was at hand. I renewed my commitment to efficiency, scrapping any spare moments where I might daydream or otherwise catch my breath.
This was challenging. It was stressful. But in the end, it was worth it.
For as my juggling act became routine, something unexpected happened. I started to find balance.
The three pillars of my life started to settle into an even foundation, each taking up an equivalent portion of my time and energy.
None of those pillars could take undue influence, since I had no more resources available to give. And strangely, that fact gave me peace of mind.
A situation that not long before had felt like scaling a cliff face transformed into a run up a steep hill — still strenuous, but overtly manageable.
Simply put, my commitment to juggling my priorities helped me find the balance I needed to thrive.
Now, I realize this is an extreme example. Not everyone will put themselves into the scenario I did. And if they do find themselves in that spot, they might make the hard choice I didn’t — by cutting out exercise or only giving 70% effort at school.
But even when the margins aren’t quite so thin, event when the heat is off, juggling our priorities can be useful.
For it can boost our discipline. It can invigorate our focus. And, in doing so, it can help us find the balance in our lives that would otherwise elude us.
So, regardless which priorities take up your attention, consider applying the rules of juggling to them.
It might seem like a thankless task. But you’ll be grateful for it in the end.