I’ve been thinking a lot lately – about time. A formidable topic for a short blog, but I’m going to take a run at it. I’m feeling ambitious. It’s Monday morning and a brand new month. We’re half way thru the worst of winter and thirty-one days into a new year. 

People often comment about how busy I am. Truly, I have opened a lot of doors and started down many a path. Writing every day is one of them. But I am doing so many things, that there is not enough time to become proficient at any of them. That leads to frustration. Like the proverbial hamster in a wheel, the harder I work, the more stagnant I become. If only I had more time. If only there more hours in a day, days in a week..

How many times have we felt this way? But the calendar is unforgiving: Seven days, 24 hours each. That’s what we’ve got. If you’re working, there are even less hours for you to balance the rest of your life. In some ways, I think I was better at time management when I worked. Maybe, it was because there was so much less of it to manage. 

For me, it’s all about priorities. If you don’t have any, then you’re not busy. If you have too many, well, then you’re like me. So, what’s the solution? 

I’ve tried portioning out my week, giving certain tasks time allotments. I vowed to write three days a week, practice the fiddle four days a week, dance twice a week, see my dad once a week, organize my meet-up group events twice a month and brush up on photography twice a week. That worked – For about five days. 

Back to the drawing board. Back to giving precedence. Ask yourself, “What is most important to me?” Do you run every day for health or for sanity? Do you wish to spend more time with an elderly parent or an ailing friend? Have you been beating yourself up about the condition of your house? We all face these dilemas. We all complain about not having enough time. 

Time might be part of the issue. But I am taking the stance that it’s not about time. It’s about priorities. It’s about our decision to take time for something that’s really important. It might mean sacrificing something else. That’s the hard part – at least for me. I want it all.

Here’s what I’ve decided. Priorities are not fixed. They can change from week to week or month to month. But something has to be given the right of way. For me, it has been my writing. I went away overnight on retreats to write with no distractions. I joined a meet-up group that met locally, several times a week, to write. I got so much accomplished! It felt really good. That is, until I had my fiddle lesson. Not much improvement there. And our living room still has a bare wall, where the new love seat belongs – The one I haven’t shopped for yet. But that’s okay. Look at all the writing I got done!

So, today I will stop using “I’m too busy” as an excuse. I will make time and take time for what I deem to be most important. Smaller increments of time are less overwhelming. Besides, the only guarantee is right now. 

What matters most to you today? Do you have a long list of things you need to do? Want to do? You know what mine looks like. But today, my list is going to be shorter – Just one day.    

Then, tomorrow, I’ll do it again. 

I can live with that!