.........."We shall never have more time. We have, and always had, all the time there is." - Arnold Bennett
Many people in this country today have several jobs whether you are paid for it or not. There are the full and part time jobs that you are paid for, there are things to do for yourself, house, children, family, friends, church school and so many other things. We all have goals which have to do lists we need to follow and completein order to achieve them. Sometimes, all of these things together seem overwhelming and completely impossible......but is it?
Is it possible that what seems impossible is simply our unwillingness to make it happen? Do you think about all of the things you have to do and feel hopeless? Doing that will automatically cause you to halfway give up before you have even began. Do we relish and desire our down time that instead of doing our best to check things on our list, we work slowly watching the clock waiting for it to be time to do what we really want? Whether it be it happy hour and margaritas with the girls after work, getting a mani and a pedi, going shopping, to the movies, a class we enjoy or going to bed, playing golf, going to the gym there are ALWAYS things we would much rather be doing than what we need to.
For the most part, those of us who are parents expect our children to complete certain tasks before doing anything they really want to. Am I the only parent who has realized that I do not follow that same rule? I am constantly in a battle with my children to pick up there rooms, put up their laundry, put there toys up....all of these things are expected to be in the correct place and not hidden under the bed or some other place bound to become a dark home for a spider. Could it be that we have such a problem with it is all my fault?.....Could it be? Dare I say it? Was my husband right when he pointed the finger of blame at me?
His finger pointing at all of the jobs I have going on that seem to always be going, but never finished. The dishes, the laundry, the pile of paperwork and bills, cleaning of the floors, bathroom and my office. I am constantly doing chores, neverending it seems, but not all get done. It is like a revolving door of work. As soon as I get halfway done, there is more added to my pile. I feel like it is impossible to have a clean house all the time. Is it?
.........."Procrastination is, hands down, our favorite form of self-sabotage." - Alice P. Cornyn-Selby
I have a long list, because there are a lot of things that a wife, mother of 3 who works must do. I also realize that ther are people with much more to do than I. Maybe I need to actually write out my to do list instead of allowing all the chores and jobs to swim around in my head seemingly impossible to remember or catch. Maybe I can get it all done and the only reason I don't is because I get sick of doing one and move onto another. I realize that honestly, I do feel hopeless and discouraged so I sulk and hate the thought of doing these things I really do not enjoy. But, these things I don't enjoy are simply part of life and I must take the good with the bad. What I do know with 100% of accuracy is that what I am doing now is not working, so I must change the matter in which I work.
........."It's all about time management. you can actually do a lot of things if you work out your schedule." - Amanda Izatt
So in order to try and regain some of my sanity and happiness I am giving myself a challenge. I will write out the to do list, combine the chores that go hand in hand and give myself a goal to complete said list each day. Of course not all of my jobs will be on the list. I am going to write myself a reasonable list each night for the next day. Within one week I should be caught up which will allow me to put everything on a daily list. Yes, I realize that that will leave absolutely no time to do things I enjoy, at least until I get into the groove of handling a list. Maybe my next goal will be to give myself break times so I can watch a TiVo'd show or if I am super lucky, head to a driving range and hit a couple baskets of balls.
......."Don't wait. The time will never be just right." - Napolean Hill
I will start this experiment on myself and my abilities to change bad habits this evening. I will keep you all posted on my progress. If you don't hear from me in a week then I have lost my mind!
Pattie Hart
