A full calendar, but a happy heart

I get asked the same question a lot: “How do you do it all?”

And honestly, I never have a very good answer. I don’t have a revolutionary productivity system to share. I don’t wake up at 4:00 a.m. to meditate, work out, drink a green smoothie, and write 2,000 words before the rest of the world opens its eyes. I am organized. I love a list. My calendar is absolutely color-coded. But there’s no secret formula happening behind the scenes.

The most honest answer I can give is this:

When you inherently want to do something, you figure out how to make time for it.

And I genuinely want to do everything I do.

During the day, I work full-time in external affairs at COUNTRY Financial. PR is what I went to school for, and it’s a genuinely rewarding career. I learn and grow every day as the media, AI, and generative engine optimization—or GEO—spaces continue to evolve.

I get to work in a field that challenges me, keeps me curious, and allows me to use the skills I’ve spent years developing. I’m constantly learning something new, and for someone whose top CliftonStrength is Learner, that matters to me.

But I’m also an author.

I love sitting down and disappearing into a story. I love creating characters, breaking their hearts, putting them back together, and eventually seeing those stories in readers’ hands.

That’s why I push myself not only to write books, but to publish them, too.

Writing the story is only one part of the process. Publishing also requires revising, editing, formatting, marketing, promoting, attending events, building relationships with readers, and then somehow finding the energy to begin all over again.

I publish with Inkspell Publishing and am represented by WordLink, Inc. With every book I release, my readership grows a little more. Every message from someone who connected with one of my characters—or stayed up far too late because they had to know what happened—reminds me why I keep going.

That motivation makes it easier to find the time.

I also love helping other writers accomplish the same dream. I contract with Golden Editorial, where I offer book coaching, proofreading, developmental editing, and other services.

There is something incredibly rewarding about helping another person strengthen a story and move closer to seeing their own name on a book cover. I know how vulnerable it can feel to share your words with someone else. Being trusted with another writer’s work is something I don’t take lightly.

Their success doesn’t take anything away from mine. It adds to it.

That same desire to help and encourage others is why I started the Just Write Julie podcast. I love talking with people about their paths—the decisions they’ve made, the challenges they’ve faced, and the things they’ve done to find happiness and success.

At its heart, each episode is simply a conversation. I just happen to record it so other people can benefit from it, too.

Then there’s the part of me that absolutely cannot let go of the classroom.

I’ve taught for 18 years, and I still love it. I currently teach in the School of Communication at Illinois State University and through Heartland Community College’s Continuing Education program. I love facilitating discussions, watching ideas take shape, and seeing students gain confidence in their voices and abilities.

I loved the classroom as a student, but I think I love it even more as a teacher. There is something pretty special about watching the light bulb turn on for someone—or helping them recognize a talent they haven’t quite seen in themselves yet.

Teaching gives me an energy I can’t replicate anywhere else.

I care deeply about my community too, so I volunteer on nonprofit boards like the Central Illinois Communication Association and the Multicultural Leadership Program, and offer my time as a coach to the Bloomington-Normal Girls Softball Association. I love connecting people to the right opportunities, resources, and other people. I like knowing I helped something good happen, even if my contribution was only one small piece of it.

The truth is that every single thing I do selfishly makes me happy.

It’s like that episode of Friends where Phoebe tries to prove there is such a thing as a completely selfless good deed—only to discover that doing something kind makes the person doing it feel good, too.

Maybe that’s the secret.

Everything I give my time to gives something back to me.

But that doesn’t mean balancing it all is easy.

I’m also a wife and a mom to three kids. Of all the roles I have, those are my priority. My calendar might be filled with work meetings, classes, podcast recordings, manuscript deadlines, book events, dance competitions, volunteer commitments, and about a thousand other things, but my family is always at the center of it.

I’m also incredibly fortunate to have a genuinely supportive husband who enables me to pursue all the things I love. “Doing it all” is rarely the work of one person. It requires support, communication, flexibility, and someone willing to take over when the calendar gets especially chaotic.

I would never want to talk about everything I accomplish without acknowledging the person beside me who helps make it possible.

Even with that support, I’ve had moments when I’ve needed to stop, reassess, and check myself. There are seasons when I can take on more, and there are seasons when I need to pull back. Sometimes I realize I’ve said yes to too many things. Sometimes I recognize that I’m physically present somewhere, but my mind is still cycling through everything waiting for me.

That’s usually my sign that something needs to change. Because time management isn’t a system you master once. It’s a process that ebbs and flows with your life. So, while I don’t have one magical answer for managing such a full calendar, I have learned a few things along the way.

Make time for what gives you energy

Not every commitment drains us in the same way. Writing, teaching, podcasting, editing, and coaching all require energy, but they also replenish something in me. They make me feel creative, useful, connected, and fulfilled.

Pay attention to what gives you energy—not just what consumes your time. A full schedule filled with meaningful work can sometimes feel lighter than a half-empty one filled with obligations you resent.

Of course, that doesn’t mean every part of something you love will be fun. Even dream jobs and passion projects come with tedious tasks, difficult days, and moments when motivation disappears. But when the larger purpose matters to you, it’s easier to work through the parts that don’t.

Use the time you actually have

I think many of us wait for the perfect block of uninterrupted time to begin something important. Unfortunately, those perfect blocks rarely appear.

I’ve learned to use the pockets of time available to me. Sometimes that means writing in short bursts, answering an email between commitments, making notes about a scene before bed, or setting aside part of a weekend for a larger project.

Progress doesn’t have to happen in eight-hour stretches. Fifteen focused minutes still count. One edited page still counts. A paragraph still counts. Even writing down an idea before it disappears counts.

Small pockets of progress eventually become a finished book, a completed project, or a goal you can finally cross off the list.

Know what needs your attention right now

Everything might feel important, but everything cannot be the priority at the same time.

Some weeks, my work at COUNTRY requires more of me. During a book release, my author life moves closer to the top of the list. When I’m preparing for class or grading assignments, my students need more of my attention. And when my family needs me, the rest can wait.

Priorities shift. Allowing them to shift doesn’t mean you’re failing at balance. It means you’re paying attention.

I’ve stopped thinking of balance as giving every part of my life an equal amount of time. That’s simply not realistic. For me, balance means giving the right thing my attention at the right moment—and recognizing when that needs to change.

Keep track of your commitments

My brain holds plenty of characters, plot twists, communications strategies, lecture ideas, podcast questions, and early-2000s song lyrics. It does not also need to remember every deadline and appointment.

I rely on calendars, lists, reminders, and written plans. If something matters, I write it down. Seeing my commitments in one place helps me understand what I realistically have room for—and when I need to say no.

Your system doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be a system you will consistently use. And if adding something to your list purely for the joy of immediately crossing it off motivates you, I fully support that, too.

Accept that something will occasionally drop

No one truly does everything flawlessly. An email might sit unanswered longer than I intended. The laundry might remain in a basket. A writing session might get pushed to another day. Sometimes I’m incredibly productive in one area of my life because I’m doing the bare minimum somewhere else.

That isn’t failure. That’s being human.

The goal isn’t to perform every role perfectly every day. The goal is to remain aware of what matters, make adjustments when something feels off, and extend yourself some grace when life refuses to follow your carefully color-coded calendar.

Remember that “No” protects your “Yes”

This is still a work in progress for me because I genuinely want to do so many things. But every yes takes time from somewhere else.

Before agreeing to something new, I try to consider what it will require—not only in hours, but in mental and emotional energy. If I say yes, what am I saying no to? Does this opportunity align with what matters to me right now? Do I have the capacity to do it well?

Sometimes the answer is still yes, even when the calendar looks a little wild. But it should be an intentional yes.

Let your life change

What worked for me five years ago might not work now. What works during a quiet month may be completely unrealistic during a book launch, a busy season at work, or a packed family schedule.

Time management isn’t about forcing every season of life into the same routine. It’s about regularly asking yourself: What matters most right now? What can I reasonably carry? What needs to change?

Sometimes success looks like accomplishing more. Sometimes it looks like protecting your peace, asking for help, or putting something down.

So, what’s the real story behind my very full calendar?

I don’t manage every role perfectly. I don’t give everything equal attention every day. And I certainly don’t do any of it alone. I choose things that bring meaning and happiness into my life. I use the time I have. I stay organized. I lean on the people who support me. I reevaluate when the balance feels wrong. And when I care deeply enough about something, I find a way to keep moving toward it.

Maybe the better question isn’t how one person manages to fit so much into a life. Maybe it’s why that person chooses such a full one.

That answer is easy.

Because all of it makes me happy.