If you know, you know.
Maycember is what I call the stretch of May where life suddenly feels like December — but without the twinkle lights and the excuse to eat cookies for breakfast. It’s the end-of-year school performances, the award ceremonies, the teacher appreciation weeks, the sports playoffs, the field trips, the end-of-season/year board meetings, the “oh by the way we need 48 cupcakes by Thursday” texts.
All of it. At once. While you’re also trying to run a business.
This year, my Maycember includes: Makenzie’s softball tournaments, Cody’s baseball games, a bridal shower gift to buy, multiple client projects, batching my podcast recordings, and a puppy arriving in a few months that I’m somehow supposed to be “preparing for.” (oops, haven’t done that!)
Cool, cool. Totally fine. Completely manageable.
Here’s what’s actually keeping me sane.
1. I stopped trying to have a “normal” week.
May is not a normal month. Treating it like one is the fastest path to feeling behind on everything, all the time.
Instead, I plan around the chaos. I look at the week on Sunday and identify the hard stops first — the games, the events, the things that are non-negotiable — and build work around them instead of the other way around.
This week, I knew my afternoons were gone. So I front-loaded my mornings and batched my recordings before noon. Done. Afternoons and weekends belong to the bleachers.
2. I batch like my sanity depends on it. (Because it does.)
Batching is not a productivity hack. It’s a survival skill.
This week I recorded four podcast episodes, knocked out a bunch of Make Money Monday videos in one session, got ahead on the Academy’s June Social Selling Action Plan and blocked a full Monday next week as recording day. Full disclosure: This last Monday, I took a half day and watched a rom-com in the morning before jumping into my workday. I thought I was getting sick and needed to take a step back.
All that said — When I sit down to create, I create. When I’m in mom mode, I’m in mom mode.
The mental switching cost of going back and forth between “business Becky” and “baseball mom Becky” is real. Batching cuts that in half.
3. I have a very short “must do” list.
Not a full task list. Not a running inventory of everything that needs to happen eventually.
A short list. Three things, maybe five. The things that, if I only got those done today, I would still feel good about the day.
Everything else is “if time.” And sometimes “if time” never comes — and that’s okay.
4. I let my team carry more.
This is a big one.
If you’re a solopreneur or a one-woman show, skip ahead. But if you have any kind of team — even a VA, even a part-time helper, even a helpful partner, grandparent or bestie — May is the month to delegate more aggressively than feels comfortable.
I have a team that handles social posting, content scheduling, and email workflows. In May, I lean on them harder. I give them the assets and get out of the way. My job is to create and decide. Their job is to execute.
I used to feel guilty about this. Now I call it smart.
5. I protect one thing for me.
Daily yoga. Iced coffee on the back porch in the afternoon. Even just twenty minutes.
When everything is full and loud and moving fast, having one small anchor that’s just mine makes the rest feel more manageable.
It’s not selfish. It’s structural.
Here’s the thing about Maycember: it’s a lot, but it’s also kind of beautiful.
These are the nights I’ll remember. The drive home from the game when everyone’s tired (and smelly) and someone’s eating a hot dog from the snackbar for dinner in the backseat. The group texts with the other softball moms. The last-minute scramble that somehow always comes together to get uniforms washed, teacher gifts handled and field trip permission slips signed.
The chaos is the season. And the season doesn’t last forever.
So I’ll show up for it — on the bleachers and in my business — and I’ll batch my recordings and keep my list short and let my team carry what they can.
And I’ll bring the good iced coffee.
xx, Becky
P.S. If you’re drowning in May and wondering how to keep your business moving when life is full — that’s exactly what I talk about on the Modern Direct Seller Podcast. New episodes drop every Monday. Find it wherever you listen.
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