It is so easy to forget your priorities when “busy” gets in the way. It is also always a perfect excuse that you can repeatedly use for not getting things done that should probably get done, especially something for yourself.
Take me the other day, for example; my priority was to write. I have a book that won’t write itself (WTF, I know, right?!), I have a short story competition that I want to enter, and a blog I want to be consistent in content because I haven’t been consistent lately or, in all honesty, ever.
I’d had the house to myself from 10 am.
I’d had it to myself until 2 pm.
That’s four whole hours! Now as a mother of five, this is what miracles are made of! It is a phenomenon, a very rare occurrence. But even rarer than this blissful four hours of my life was that my house was clean! I had nothing else to prioritise, no laundry, dusting, bed making, nothing to do but write.
What did I actually do on that glorious, once in a lifetime kind of day?
I vacuumed my already clean floor.
I scrolled on my phone – for fuck knows how long.
I ate Fruit Loops for lunch (I never eat Fruit Loops, I rarely have lunch).
I tried on all my ‘activewear’ to see what I could give away – then put it all back after not wanting to let any of it go.
And I did, what I called, pottering around.
Am I 80? Why the fuck am I pottering around when I have peace and quiet and everything else I want at my fingertips?!
I dream of time to myself.
I yearn for it.
I imagine all the writing I could do when I have it, yet I totally, abso-fucking-lutely wasted every fucking second of it the very moment I got it.
Why?
Why do I continually push my priorities to the ground and say, “Hey, maybe later fuckface?”
Why do I completely waste my time? I beg for time to do what I love and what I should prioritise because it is part of what makes me me!
So here it is… my (possibly empty) promise to myself for May.
I promise and solemnly swear that I, alter ego London Dene, will shift my focus to prioritise the things I WANT TO DO. I will work on creating better habits that give me more time to do those things. I will develop systems and better organisation within my life (and my clutter) to encourage a calmer and more controlled wife, mother, employee and writer.
This also includes other things in my life that I desperately need to prioritise. Like my spending. My emails. My energy.
Time will not wait for me. Nor you. Not any of us.
LD ||
P.S I am currently listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear on Audible…. STRONGLY RECOMMEND!
Some of my favourite quotes so far:
“Most people think they lack motivation when they really lack clarity.”
“When you lose track of time, you are either living your best life or wasting it.” YASSSSSSS!
“When you say no, you are only saying no to one option.
When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option.
No is a decision.
Yes is a responsibility.
Be careful what you say yes to. It will shape your day, your career, your family, your life.”
“We cannot predict the value our work will provide to the world. That’s fine. It is not our job to judge our own work. It is our job to create it, to pour ourselves into it, and to master our craft as best we can.”
Reality Writes by London Dene 