Brrrrrhhhhh... I'm writing this during one of the coldest weekend's of the year, and our boiler failed. It was freezing!
We immediately called our heating emergency contact number, and made sure a plumber was coming out to fix it. Regardless of what we had on, and how busy we were, the boiler became the number one priority.
But it got me thinking... why don't I treat my priorities like the boiler? Why doesn't the art class, or my desire to run a marathon not treated with the same gusto?
When I was growing up, we had a timetable of classes that we had to stick to, now we have a schedule that we supposedly create, but really are often at the mercy of our children and partner's plans. How can we put the things that we really want to do in the schedule and make sure that we have time for us?
I've just been going through my week, and the to do list of activities for kids and partner means that I'm not a priority in the weekly schedule. My yoga class gets bumped for football matches or baby gym, and when we don't have any family support, how do you balance the things you want to do as a mum with the demands of kids and partners?
Is it a case of finding more time in the day? As I write it's 5am, and I'm sitting next to little one watching Thomas the Tank Engine. We've been up since 4am with teething and tears.
I'm able to write this because I've chosen to make my writing a priority. And being up so early, I'm able to get a blog post written before the day really starts. But I'm not sure that sacrificing sleep for writing on my website Dream it, Do it, Love it is really the answer.
This morning, I've realised that those things that I write on the bottom of my plans for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2017 onwards... I can look at them, and say, they are nice to do, but if I really wanted to do them, then I would have done them, and actually they not a priority in my life. Rather than putting them on my long to do list, and never actually getting round to them, I am going to free myself up to concentrate on the things that I actually do want to do. So goodbye marathon running and art class, and hello yoga and writing. I'm going to do the things I really want to do, and no worry about the rest.
So how do I find the time for those things that I really want to do? Whether it's crappy TV, Facebook, or the Mail Online gossip column, we all have something that just sucks out all of our spare time for the day. When I was setting up my business, I looked at my day and thought I couldn't possibly fit more into my day... and then I realised I spent hours reading the Mail Online celebrity gossip, and this was my time sucker. I took the plunge and deleted my Daily Mail app. Yes I had withdrawal symptoms on showbiz nonsense, but I soon learned I could get so much more done!
I used to be a "wing it" kind of person that liked the adrenaline rush of trying to do everything, and when I was single it worked, but with little one's swimming lessons, and partner's football games, I found I was constantly juggling their demands, and there was no time for me. I've started scheduling everything in my diary, and I mean EVERYTHING... I write everything I need to do in my Google Calendar, and yes I hate it, and yes it sucks, but you know what... it helps my baby brain, and it works. We each have our own calendar, and so I can see at glance all of our schedules. And in my calendar, I plan for down time, "white space" moments so that I can do ME STUFF, and keep track of my priorities.
I've also learned to make decisions faster and just bloody do things... Pre-baby my writing involved a lot of dawdling on Google and the like. Now I have an hour of nap-time to just bloody do it.
So regardless of how busy you THINK you are, you would make fixing a boiler a priority. Just for this week, make you a priority, and it's amazing what you can achieve.