Priorities, lately
I feel like I'm still trying to figure out what my priorities are and how to best use my time. I know this is a universal problem and that no one has the time or other resources needed to accomplish all that they would like. It's just that I used to feel like I had a better handle on things and now the last two years of my life feel like a constantly shifting landscape I'm still trying to navigate.
Last night I worked late and didn't get home until 9:30. My original plan had been to go right to bed by 10:30 and catch up on sleep. Instead, I started chatting with a friend on Facebook and we played a round of Words with Friends. I stayed up later than I had planned to. On the one hand, I needed the sleep. On the other hand, I also needed to talk to someone. For a while now I've been debating the value of my time, because I spend a lot of time chatting online with this particular friend. I value our friendship. I need connections in my life and I don't feel like I have enough time spent with other people (today, like most Saturdays without the kids, was spent completely alone). But chatting is so inefficient. I need to figure out other ways to build and maintain friendships. I'm an extrovert but have bad people skills--not a good combination.
Today actually went pretty well despite my morning grogginess. When I woke up this morning I had plans for what I wanted to do and I actually made them all happen. I spent a little time cleaning the house. Cleaning has gotten away from me lately and I could have spent a few hours making the house look really nice, but then I decided that it wasn't a priority today. The kids will be here on Monday and I'm going to make them help me out with cleaning because they need to learn how to do that anyways. Then I went to the mall to get a haircut. There was a bit of a wait so I ended up going to do a bit of window shopping. That turned into real shopping which is a bit of problem, but Little Dude desperately needs new church pants and new pajamas. I also got S-Boogie a new dress. Having tall, skinny children makes clothes shopping hard.
After I got my hair cut I stopped by Costco for a few things. Lately I've been craving pot roast, but I have other food in the house that needs to get eaten first and meat is so expensive. I think I'll make room for it in the budget next week. After Costco I came home and ate lunch, and then sat down with a book. At this point in the day I was really tempted to just stay home for the rest of the afternoon and read or watch TV. Instead I showered and got ready to go to the temple. After I got there I discovered that Saturday afternoon is a bad time to go because it's really busy. I thought I would have time after the session to grab some dinner but I didn't. There is a play that I've been wanting to see for a while being performed at a small theater in Provo, and today was the perfect day for me to go see it. I was tempted to just not go since the temple took longer than I thought and I was hungry, but I'm glad I decided to go since it was really good. I was starving by the time I got home, though.
So, I guess the moral of today is that I will feel better if I decide what my priorities are and make them happen. Today I wanted to get a haircut, go to the temple, and see a play. And I did all three things. I keep thinking about all the things I didn't do and could have, but really what I need to do is focus on the fact that I fulfilled my priorities. Now I just need to make going to bed a priority.
Last night I worked late and didn't get home until 9:30. My original plan had been to go right to bed by 10:30 and catch up on sleep. Instead, I started chatting with a friend on Facebook and we played a round of Words with Friends. I stayed up later than I had planned to. On the one hand, I needed the sleep. On the other hand, I also needed to talk to someone. For a while now I've been debating the value of my time, because I spend a lot of time chatting online with this particular friend. I value our friendship. I need connections in my life and I don't feel like I have enough time spent with other people (today, like most Saturdays without the kids, was spent completely alone). But chatting is so inefficient. I need to figure out other ways to build and maintain friendships. I'm an extrovert but have bad people skills--not a good combination.
Today actually went pretty well despite my morning grogginess. When I woke up this morning I had plans for what I wanted to do and I actually made them all happen. I spent a little time cleaning the house. Cleaning has gotten away from me lately and I could have spent a few hours making the house look really nice, but then I decided that it wasn't a priority today. The kids will be here on Monday and I'm going to make them help me out with cleaning because they need to learn how to do that anyways. Then I went to the mall to get a haircut. There was a bit of a wait so I ended up going to do a bit of window shopping. That turned into real shopping which is a bit of problem, but Little Dude desperately needs new church pants and new pajamas. I also got S-Boogie a new dress. Having tall, skinny children makes clothes shopping hard.
After I got my hair cut I stopped by Costco for a few things. Lately I've been craving pot roast, but I have other food in the house that needs to get eaten first and meat is so expensive. I think I'll make room for it in the budget next week. After Costco I came home and ate lunch, and then sat down with a book. At this point in the day I was really tempted to just stay home for the rest of the afternoon and read or watch TV. Instead I showered and got ready to go to the temple. After I got there I discovered that Saturday afternoon is a bad time to go because it's really busy. I thought I would have time after the session to grab some dinner but I didn't. There is a play that I've been wanting to see for a while being performed at a small theater in Provo, and today was the perfect day for me to go see it. I was tempted to just not go since the temple took longer than I thought and I was hungry, but I'm glad I decided to go since it was really good. I was starving by the time I got home, though.
So, I guess the moral of today is that I will feel better if I decide what my priorities are and make them happen. Today I wanted to get a haircut, go to the temple, and see a play. And I did all three things. I keep thinking about all the things I didn't do and could have, but really what I need to do is focus on the fact that I fulfilled my priorities. Now I just need to make going to bed a priority.
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