Virginia WaltonI suspect this will resonate with most women but I know some men who also put the needs of everyone else in front of their own. I get it even without children, a spouse, elderly parents, siblings or a boss I still struggle to put my ‘stuff’ first. If you are thinking, Virginia, I have all of those things and more so if you cannot find time, how will I ever find time, I am here to tell you that you can find the time. There is always time for the things we prioritize. The problem is we prioritize work, family, children’s activities (sports, dance, theater, etc.) and community over our own goals.
One of my goals in life has been to control my time. By which I mean, not have someone else dictate where I spend the majority of my day. Last year when I left my former employer, I thought I finally had achieved that goal. This week I realized I hadn’t. In fact, I was still putting everyone else in front of me. I found myself volunteering for even more in my Church and community. I was making time for funerals, family and community, but not prioritizing my goals and my business.
During my morning prayer and meditation, it hit me and when I say hit me, I mean tears streaming. I felt some shame. I was still not in control of my time. Do not misunderstand me, I do not regret and am grateful that I could be with my friends and family when they needed the support. What I do regret was that I failed to make myself a priority on those days and hold myself accountable. There was time to work out or do work to move me closer to my goals, but I let myself focus on that I was hungry and tired after that so I ate (poor food choices on top of it!!!) and vegged out. I am a firm believer in the need to refresh and take a break, but mindlessly eating, watching re-runs and scrolling through Facebook are not refreshing activities. They are time drains! We all have those. If you do not know what yours are, here is a tool to find them.
For one week track how you spend your time. There is probably an app to help you with this, if that’s not your style you can use Excel, your journal, a notebook, a piece of paper, a white board or whatever works for you. I am confident you will find something in there that is not moving you closer to your goals that you can get rid of. I did! I realized I wasted an hour, yes, an entire hour, reading an article on funny text messages that was only mildly entertaining. I could have gotten 400 calories burned in that time if I had been working out.
If you need more help finding how to make time for your goals and dreams, let’s chat. I am here to help. I clearly will put your goals over my own 😉