For all my other posts in this possibly never-ending series on how I’m aiming for more white space and less smudges in my life, click here.
I have the best intentions. I really do. I love a list. A plan. A box that can be neatly checked off or better yet a strong black line through a finished task.
It’s just that I’m really so very bad at finishing.
I’m great at starting. Enthusiasm, energy, get ‘er done and all that. It’s why the start of a new school year was always my favorite time to be a teacher. It’s new, exciting, so many possibilities.
Kind of like my head full of blog and novel and ebook ideas that aren’t going anywhere because I can get started, but I can’t seem to get finished.
I like to blame all this on lack of time. Except I know incredibly successful bloggers and writers who also work full-time jobs or have more kids than I.
So then I like to blame my unfinished tasks on principles. As in, I’m investing in my kids right now so I don’t really have time to invest in anything else.
Yeah, that would work if I believed it. Truth is, I am investing in my kids and in being there and available to them. But I also quit a job that gave us another income and health insurance so that I could pursue the hearts of my children and the heart of my scariest God-sized dreams.
So, I’ve begun making one small change to how I approach my issue with time since that’s my go-to excuse.
It’s not about how much time I have; it’s about how I choose to spend it.
Time’s a currency. I can choose to spend it wisely on something that will set me up and get me ahead and make me feel that I have accomplished more in my day than just sweeping the floor ten times before dinner. Or I can choose to spend it on something that will give me a few fleeting moments of pleasure but leave me frustrated and guilty in the end.
So for the past couple of weeks, when I sit down to write, I have begun treating it like work. I make a list of what I need to accomplish and I finish it. Or I at least try really hard and make myself be intentional about trying to finish.
A couple Saturdays ago, Joshua stayed home and supervised room cleaning and I went to the library and worked intently for two solid hours. I actually set the alarm on my phone and allotted myself a set amount of time to finish my different tasks from compiling the posts I want to turn into an ebook on Embracing Motherhood to breaking down the play I’m directing this Christmas by scenes and characters. I felt so much better when I left simply because I had paid attention and been intentional about using my time wisely. I had finished what I had started.
So that’s my (not so) new revelation: to be conscious of the time I have available and to be intentional about what I want to use it for.
After all, nap time can be about more than folding another load of laundry.
Linking up with these lovely ladies. Check it out.
I am the same way… full of gusto when starting a project, but it ends up on the back burner. Then, I start a new project and it's a vicious cycle 🙂 I am also learning to use my time wisely and be a lot more intentional.
LikeLike
I think as women, especially us moms (whether we hold public jobs or not), have so much on our plates. We feel like we have to do everything and that we have to do it perfectly all the time. That's so not the case. I am proud of you for finding some time for you and getting some things done. We all need to get away from time to time!
LikeLike
Wow, that's totally me and i have been pondering those things even this week as i seek to be productive. I actually journaled yesterday about how much time i spend thinking and dreaming about the things i want to accomplish – even routines i want to start and how i get too distracted by the next new gadget or pretty planner (never underestimate the power of a pretty planner 🙂 though)that will help me accomplish these things instead of just getting it done. Oh how much margin i would have! The great thing is i'm using my margin time today to read your blog cause i was proactive today and actually completed one of my weekly goals of getting the bathrooms clean (at least 2 out of the 3 :))
LikeLike