Oxford Online Dictionary* defines a Renaissance Woman “as a woman with many talents”.
And Britannica.com describes the Renaissance period to have been characterized by a surge of interest in learning, exploration, science (like the realization that the Earth revolved around the Sun) classical wisdom and arts.
And the arts really took center stage during the Renaissance due to the convergence of humanism and economic conditions that supported and encourage the progress of making art.
Something about Renaissance really speaks to me. I think its the “being able to enjoy one’s many interests” that I want to embody. As generalist, in a professional setting and a multi-passionate in my personal life, I inherently gravitate to the idea of enjoying as many hobbies & passions as possible.
That can be curse and a blessing. A blessing because you get to pursue everything that you feel is beautiful in life, a curse because you may never feel fulfilled.
So here are a few tips that I use to continue to balance all of my interests (be a modern Renaissance Woman if you will) while actually being present in my life!
- Make a list of all of your interests, Blue sky thinking is the key here, then prioritize ruthlessly. Figure out what you actually want to do sooner rather than later. Keep this list hand
- Taking your highest priority interests and schedule them as activities (in your Google calendar, planner, outlook etc) during the week/month/year or seasons. This way, you can prioritize your high value activities, create repetition – which in turn improves progress towards your interest. Actually scheduling time and by finding small pockets in your calendar to pursue your interests can really show the balance and helps move things forward. As an example, I have specific times of the week that I will work on blog content, go to pilates or use my duolingo app to learn a language.
- Make some interests a habit, I used a Habit tracker app to track that I make time to paint 3 times a week, do my skin care daily and even read 10 pages.
- Of the un-prioritized interests, be ready to defer to the future! This means some interests may not be pursued in the coming month or other timeframe you are expecting. This is a character building choice, which although allows time for obligatory activities or responsibilities, and helps you learn to give yourself grace.
- If a particular obligation or responsibility cannot be avoided – master it! (e.g. cooking or doing activities in your business/career that you don’t particularly appreciate or enjoy). For me, that’s cleaning – but knowing how to clean (instead of outsourcing it or ignoring the cleaning) is important for my kids to see what an all rounded woman is.
- Do not allow yourself to become creatively jealous. With short form content all around us, this will require you to have discipline not to doom scroll YouTube shorts or Instagram reels).
Remember what you see here is just a highlight reel and what may seem like a quick victory is actually years of mastery. Instead focus on your own goals and interests, and if you do want to watch the content – be inspired by it!
