Do you ever struggle to find the time you need to do all the things you want to do? [And no, I don’t mean the stuff you HAVE to do like cleaning, domestics etc.] It’s the ongoing story of my life! I’m a week into my new/old job and it’s ever more obvious that I’m trying to squeeze 30 hours of activity into a 24 hour day. God loves a trier… 😆 . Maybe I should ‘go Amish’ and live by the sun rising and setting rather than the clock? They don’t seem to spend their time clock watching and rushing about like headless chickens…! Sigh!!
So, I’m trying a new approach [stop laughing at the back there!!]. I’ve made a list of the things that are important for me to try and achieve at least a few times each week [or even better every day] and a list of all the things I can cut out/down. I have whittled the ‘would like to find time for’ list down to praying/bible study, blogging, reading, journalling, crochet [craft of choice at the moment] and attending Mass [I’ve been very remiss since before Christmas regarding the latter]. The only things I’ve identified that can be cut out or cut down on are cleaning the house, television viewing and PC/Internet time, there is very little else I do that could be classed as time-wasting. I really do need to be a bit less fastidious with my housework as I can and do always find time to clean etc. That never, EVER gets left but a clean house often means a neglected spirit. Simon and I did a Lent challenge one year where we only watched pre-selected programmes on the TV and boy did we free-up some time. No more mindless channel hopping. Also it’s all to easy to log-on the PC and just click away without a particular focus. Far better to log on with a set agenda and then log off again without being tempted to ‘browse’.
It’s a case of prioritising and better time management I suspect because I’m certainly not lazy ~ quite the opposite in face. I’ll have to really WANT to change things and not be half hearted about it. It’s going to have to be a conscious choice I think. As a practising Catholic/Christian it is really important that I MAKE time for prayer and scripture but I tend to put domestic duties first thinking, “I’ll just hoover up and then I’ll read my bible, I’ll just put a wash on and then I’ll pray…” yep, you can see where I’m going wrong can’t you?? This attitude just won’t feed my soul. I’m turning into a real life Martha when I really want to be more of a Mary!!
The other thing I’ve often considered trying is getting up a bit earlier in the morning to spend time with God. I know lots of people who do this very successfully but as I already get up at 6am every day I’d really struggle with an earlier start. I’ve tried it in the past and ended up nodding off mid prayer ~ amusing but not terribly satisfying for me or God 🙂 . I think this would have to be a last resort.
I also think I’m going to have to be realistic with this. I am the mother of a 7 year old son, I work part-time, I run a house, I have an eldery mother who needs her share of TLC, I have four cats and a dog and last but definately not least a husband who I love to spend time with. These are parts of my life that cannot be ignored, nor would I even want to, but they must be taken into consideration.
I’ll report back as to how this goes. We’ll see if in a months time I’m achieving my list of ‘would like to find time for’ things a bit more frequently or if I’m still chasing my own tail and feeling frustrated at myself.
Curly Noodle. . . 