Ever feel like the ball bouncing around in a pin ball machine… Getting flipped one way and then another, rolling back down to only get flipped about again. Exhausting Huh!
That’s been me recently. I’ve drifted back into some well-worn habits. Habits that don’t serve me well.
Traps I fall into when life speeds up, I get busier and skip my planning.
You know when you think you can wing things a bit…. that’s been me lately.
When you decide to squeeze the chores in around the more ‘important stuff’ to do.
For me, that’s when the slippery slide begins….
Instead of spending time checking the pantry, planning our meals and doing my weekly shop, I’ve been dashing to the supermarket to grab what I can when I can.
Needles to say I forget most of what we need and I’m back at the shops the next day and the next, and the reactive cycle has begun. The cycle of grabbing what we need as we need it, almost expecting to be back again soon.
It’s not only the shopping that I’ve let slide into ineffective habits.
I’m telling myself I’ll get to a yoga class later in the week, when I catch up a bit…. we both know that’s never going to happen
I’m replying to messages and emails as they hit my inbox, while simultaneously jumping in and out of my social media accounts. That sounds crazy to even write….. but I’m doing it.
I’ve started numerous projects at once, agreed to more than I have time for in a day and I’m up and down at my desk like an ‘Everyready Bunny’.
I’m all over the place, my attention is scattered and when I get like this I assume everything is urgent, even when it’s not.
I’m hyped up and addicted to the urgency, leaving things to the last-minute and using deadlines to motivate me into action.
It’s a crazy cycle to operate in, where you treat every request as important and urgent without question.
And the not so urgent and truly important activities, like planning, continually get shoved to the side….. BECAUSE YOU DON’T HAVE TIME.
Talk about vicious circle. I have no time because I’m not planning my time and I’m not planning my time because I don’t think I have time to plan.
If that sounds tiring and somewhat familiar, then please let me tell you this…. this is neither right nor wrong, it’s simply ineffective, exhausting and unsatisfying.
Planning your week and prioritising your days takes an investment of time.
It also requires discipline to stick to the plan and commitment to the priorities.
It’s an investment that pays you back ten fold.
So, if you’re busy, running out of time and bouncing around like that ball in the pinball machine I strongly suggest you stop.
Stop responding with urgency to every request that comes your way.
Stop reacting to life without a strategy.
Start beginning each week with a schedule for everything that’s important to you.
Start prioritising each day the things you most want to achieve (a walk with the dog or movie with the kids is a worthy endeavour).
This is YOUR life, each tick of the clock is precious.
How you spend your days is in fact how you spend your life…. so please spend it wisely and intentionally. I know I ‘plan’ to!
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