You know, the day when every minute is planned for? The perfectly productive day?! Today was to be one of those days. But for some reason, I still haven't learned my lesson - there is no such thing as a perfectly productive day.
I am a planner - anyone who knows me knows that. The whole reason I upgraded to a smartphone was so that I could access my Google calendar and documents from anywhere. Every night I make my to do's and prioritize them for the next day. Not only do I have daily to do's, but weekly, monthly, and even yearly. Yes, I know. Extreme. But so you don't think I'm crazy, I have calmed down with regards to my planning (haha, yes what I have described is having calmed down). Following counsel given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks in a Conference a few sessions ago, I use a prioritizing system of "Good, Better, and Best"; sometimes it translates into a simpler system of "Nice to do, Have to do". Whichever categories I choose, the principle is the same. We are given 24 hours each and every day. We must choose how we spend our time. Elder Oaks stated,
"We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families."
I now realize that a productive day is not measured by the amount of laundry I do or the number of frozen homemade dinners in the freezer. A productive day is one filled with family and Christ centered activities, balanced with a realistic list of household goals.
Being a stay-at-home mom, my work never stops. My to-do lists are endless. Seriously. But the last thing I want to do is to clean or organize my daughter's life away; she is, afterall, the center of my world. When planning my days (and weeks, months and years), I am careful and prayerful as to not plan anything that interferes with having one-on-one time with my Livi; and not just an hour a day - as much time as possible. Although I am far from perfect, I am settling into a groove of balance - play time, learning time, cleaning time, nap time (very important), study time, food time (even more important!). I usually tackle one project a day - for example, scrubbing my bathroom or creating a Shutterfly book. In addition to my larger projects, there are the everyday tasks - a load of laundry, dishes, cooking, and basic pick up. Other than that, I fill the day with opportunities for Olivia to learn, grow, and discover the world around her: trips to the park, afternoons at the beach, playing in the courtyard of our apartment complex, going for walks, watching home videos, reading books, creating art projects and playing with her toys.
Being a stay-at-home mom, my work never stops. My to-do lists are endless. Seriously. But the last thing I want to do is to clean or organize my daughter's life away; she is, afterall, the center of my world. When planning my days (and weeks, months and years), I am careful and prayerful as to not plan anything that interferes with having one-on-one time with my Livi; and not just an hour a day - as much time as possible. Although I am far from perfect, I am settling into a groove of balance - play time, learning time, cleaning time, nap time (very important), study time, food time (even more important!). I usually tackle one project a day - for example, scrubbing my bathroom or creating a Shutterfly book. In addition to my larger projects, there are the everyday tasks - a load of laundry, dishes, cooking, and basic pick up. Other than that, I fill the day with opportunities for Olivia to learn, grow, and discover the world around her: trips to the park, afternoons at the beach, playing in the courtyard of our apartment complex, going for walks, watching home videos, reading books, creating art projects and playing with her toys.
Today, I did not follow my usual routine. Because life (and migraines) happen, my to-do's piled up. With having company for the next 2 months, and the first of that company arriving tonight, I over-planned my day. Already at 1:30pm, I was ready for a break; I'd forgotten to schedule that in. The morning was productive, and I even had time with Livi over breakfast, running errands, and playing with her baby doll. But reality sets in that even with an early start, if I'm not halfway through my list halfway through the day, it isn't all going to get done. So what do I choose to do? Take a break. Blog about my realization. Identify the "best" things to do today. Start again.
What have I come up with? The best things left for today: bake Lisa's birthday cupcakes (funny story about those one day), basic pick up, fold clean laundry, go to a teaching appointment with the sister missionaries, and put clean linens on our bed. FAR more manageable than the list I started with at the beginning of today. It all comes down to being honest and realistic with myself when setting goals, remembering the "best" things must come first, and enJOYing the journey! If I'm not enjoying it, something's gotta change.
Afterall, "Men are that they might have JOY." (2 Nephi 2:25)
I loved your post Kris! Reading it, I feel like I was the one writing it. ;) You and me, we are planners--it can be hard to not let the planning interfere with the living! But recognizing that is what happens sometimes is part of the learning process I guess. Thank goodness for tomorrows! :) Love you!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I've ever commented on your blog... But anyways, what a wonderful thought! I'm so glad you wrote this. I definitely can over plan and forget the important things. Thanks for the reminder :)
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