There's Never Enough Time

In my world, there never seems to be enough time to...

• clean up the bedroom, that doubles for my office/studio.
• finish that shredding project laying on the floor.
• put away all the clothes laying on the chair.
• hem those pants that I spent all that money on and can't wear.
• finish that book sitting on the floor in the bathroom.
• file all the crap that's laying next to the shredding.
• clean up the piles laying on my makeshift desk, and everywhere else around the house.
• do the dishes and put them away.
• do the research I need to do.
• write the articles I need to write.
• practice the recipes that I need to work on for my cookbook/articles.

Ok, you get the idea. There isn't enough time in my day. Not enough time to get everything done on a personal level and as far as work, well you can forget that too.

Who decided that there was only going to be 24 hours in a day? Who decided that the work day was eight hours? Who decided that you had to get eight hours of sleep every night? And who said 10:00pm was the acceptable time to go to bed? Who decides...

My  point is that only you can decide what is important. Only you can decide what needs to be done and when. Only you can decide what to do with your spare time. Only you can decide...period.

So don't sweat the small stuff! If things don't get done today, it will all be there tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. If you get one thing done today, then hallelujah! If you just get one thing done today and one thing done tomorrow, then can I get a "high five"! But, if you don't get anything done, then so be it, because the reality is, you will always have something to do, whether it be the laundry, dishes, dinner, taking the kids to all their extra-curricular activities or helping them with their homework.

There is one thing, though, that you should always make time for...yourself. We spend so much of our day taking care of everyone else, that I think we forget to care of little ol' me. Remember..."me" is important. Me needs to have some time for herself. ME needs "ME" time.

So don't worry that the dishes aren't done, the beds are unmade and the laundry is sitting in a heap on the floor. Go out and get yourself a mani/pedi, take a nap, or whatever you want to do to pamper yourself, because in all honesty, the "to do" list will always have something on it. However, if you don't have take care of yourself, you won't be able to take care of anyone else nor will you have the energy to get anything done on that "to do" list.

Take care of you, because there is never enough time not to.

Wishing you moments of "me" time!

Liked anything you see here? Then contact me, Susan Dusterhoft at todaysworkingwoman@hotmail.com. I am always looking for more books/products to review. I can also provide assistance with blog writing!

Priorities

 

I have spent the better part of my life putting everyone else’s needs, wants and expectations ahead of my own. I became the master juggler...

I was young...I was weak...I was easily malleable into whatever shape I needed to fit. I thought it was the right thing to do. Along the way though, I lost myself. I faded into the background…was "seen and not heard" (Anybody ever heard of that phrase?) Before I knew it…20 years of my life had past me by.

But with age comes wisdom.

The last few years though have been a real eye-opener. I could feel the change coming long before; unfortunately, I buried those sensations and following the beat of another person’s drum. Once again, I let my mind tell me it was the right thing to do. I should have listened to my heart. I should have listened to my inner voice…my spirit. I didn’t, and subsequently, I paid a price for it. 

You may all say, “I told you so!” I won’t like you any less if you do. In fact, I will probably say, “Thank you!” I admit my priorities were skewed…for a really long time. But let’s face it, whose priorities were they anyway? They weren’t mine. Wow…there’s another revelation that just hit me.

They…weren’t…my…priorities.

Seriously…the farther on this side of "what my life used to be" allows me to have a clearer vision of “Susan’s Priorities”.

So let’s take a look at me now…

I’m alive…I can breathe…I can feel…feel all those things around me. I’ve learned to embrace it…and finally listen to what it is telling me.

I’ve learned to believe…in myself. There’s no doubt about my talents…they’ve just been pushed aside for so long while I was taking care of “other stuff”. I realize now that while I was taking care of that “other stuff”, I was quietly building the foundation on which I was going to lay my priorities on and begin my real life.   

I have no doubt about that. No doubt at all.

Subconsciously, I must have been planning this all along. But, I’m awake now and fully conscious of everything. It’s a little scary, but somehow exciting.

I’m almost a year into this new life. I survived…all the hurt, all the ugliness. It was painful…this transition. There were moments when I was going to throw it all away. And I do mean all of it. But, once I let go of the past, everything just seemed to click. 

I still have a long way to go. Some of these priorities need a little massaging…a little shaping…a more definitive focus…a stronger beat…on my own drum. 

I’m stronger now; stronger than before. And I am ready to put Susan at the top of that list of priorities.

The start of the new me...