Hot Girl Time Management for the Chronically Overwhelmed

Because routines can start with making your bed, and burnout isn’t a personality trait.

Somewhere along the road, productivity became the expectation, and burnout became the goal. Waking up to the endless scrolls of ‘My 5-9 before my 9-5’, already feeling behind, and my feet have yet to escape the covers. I used to (and sometimes still do) believe that the busier I am, the more productive I will be, with the fatigue that hits at the end of a long day a sign of success. Some part of my brain has been conditioned into believing that sitting still is a waste of time, that a moment not filled by action is unfulfilled.

I will be the first to admit that even though you appear to be busy, it doesn’t mean it’s productive. I say this in a bed of notebooks and a brain full of ideas, 5 hours in and only writing paragraph two.

My first step to achieving optimal productivity was to peruse the stationery aisle in search of the notebook that would finally get my life together and help me achieve my dreams, before adding it to the stack of my 17 other unfinished notebooks. It was then, staring at all the unfinished notebooks as if they were a lineup of every idea, every plan, every dream sitting idle in the back of my mind, and I thought:

This is not how Miranda Priestly would act.

I’ve watched The Devil Wears Prada well into the double figures, so I feel quite confident in my ability to advise on Miranda’s behalf, despite her being an avid member of the burnout community.

Because here's the thing: burnout isn’t a badge of honour, and rest isn’t a reward — it’s a right. You don’t need a colour-coded calendar, five different highlighters, or an iced matcha at 6 AM to be doing enough.

These tips aren’t about doing more, they’re about doing what matters — to you, in your real life, not some perfectly curated one on the internet. So light a candle, open one of the 17 notebooks, and let’s do this out together.

Pick an Alter Ego — mine’s Miranda Priestly.

This is the person you channel when you're spiralling, when you're deep in a scroll hole or crying over crumbs in your bed. It could be a fashion icon, a fictional boss lady, or simply the version of you five years from now—calm, collected, a little bit unbothered. Ask yourself: what would she do?

Reminders, Not To-Do Lists

To-do lists are out. We’re writing Reminders now. It’s softer. Gentler. Less “crush your goals” and more “try your best.” That way, when you inevitably forget to buy toilet roll or call your nan back, you don’t spiral into generational guilt. You just… try again tomorrow.

To-Do → Can-Do

We’re entering our grateful girlie era. It’s not “I need to fold the laundry,” it’s “I can fold the laundry.” (And okay, maybe I won’t, but I could if I wanted to. So there.)

Would I Watch This?

Half my life is just me staring dramatically out a window like I’m in an indie film no one’s watching. But sometimes that thought alone gives me the push to do something plot-worthy. Even if it’s a filler episode.

Showing Up Halfway Still Counts

Perfectionism and procrastination go hand in hand, and both will convince you not to bother unless it’s flawless. But I’m learning (via Pinterest, obviously):

Make it exist. You can make it look good later.

Final reminder: You don’t need to hustle your way to burnout to prove you’re doing enough. You’re allowed to do the bare minimum and still be proud. Your routine doesn’t need a 5-step skincare system and a side hustle to be valid. If all you did today was show up – messy, late, barely coherent – you still did the damn thing.

And that, girlie, is enough.