Finding balance is something I think I’ll struggle with forever. I want to do everything perfectly well. I want to be the best mom, wife, employee, business-owner, and friend. I want my house to be perfectly clean and my yard well-manicured. I also want to practice good self-care and get plenty of sleep, exercise, and plan and prepare healthy meals. It turns out I can’t do all that in 24 hours. Heck, I can’t do all that in a week! Feeling overwhelmed comes so easily as a mom. I felt overwhelmed before Porter, but I always felt like I could manage everything if I stayed organized and focused. Now, I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water.
After some reading and reflection, I realized my priorities have been so out of whack! I have put so much emphasis on my house being clean that it stresses me out. I went back and forth between work and cleaning and neglected so many other things. I took some time to sit and rank all my responsibilities. I wrote them down and posted them on my fridge so I can remember what is most important! Most everything I spend my time on is good, but some of it is better than others.
Best
Family Time: quality, one-on-one time with Porter and Parker with the TV off
Spiritual Health: reflection, prayer, reading, and meditation
Physical Health: exercise, healthy eating, meal prep, and sleep
Better
Work: focus on the commitments I’ve already made and do them as well as I can
Friends: time with my good friends serving and playing
Personal Care: showering and laundry
House: dishes, beds, and tidiness
Good
Entrepreneurship: grow my business and spend time networking
House: deep cleaning bathrooms, floors, and maintaining the yard
Personal Care: hair, makeup, and nails
Entertainment: enjoy entertainment with a purpose (a movie, a favorite show, a night out)
Not-so-good
Social Media: wasting hours flipping through posts by people I don’t know
Negativity: spending time thinking about everything I’m not doing
Mindless Shopping: wandering around stores to kill time looking at things I can’t afford
Binge Watching: getting stuck in front of the TV for too long
Everyone’s list will look different. For some people, having a clean house is more important and might fall higher on the list of priorities. I think that doing the “not-so-good” things are needed every now and then. Sometimes it’s nice to check out and waste time (as bad as that sounds), but the more that I focus on my “best” things, the happier I am. I feel more whole, refreshed, and my mind is clear. I am better able to do the “better” and “good” things that need to get done. What are your “best” things that are most important to you?
