Happy New Year!!!
Ok, I know that it is 4 days past, but it’s still technically the new year, and I know that you didn’t really plan to put any of your resolutions to work until today, the first Monday of the new year.
So, maybe you’re here for a new start – a new year, a new resolve to make some changes to improve the efficiency in your life. Or not. Whatever . . . today is about beginnings, whether you’ve chosen to make changes or not.
I’ve spent a good part of my life trying to get organized, then a good part just accepting who I am and trying to make sure that I am spending time on the things that are important to me. That’s what it’s all about, right? If you go to a time management class, what’s the first thing they ask you? “Don’t you want more time for family/fun/hobbies/relaxing?” Well, of course, don’t we all? So, you answer, “YES!”, and then spend the rest of the class learning about all the things you have to do so that you can have more time for family/fun/hobbies/relaxing.
Isn’t it a little backwards, though? Shouldn’t you be spending all the time on family and fun and hobbies and relaxing than dealing with organization systems and checklists, etc.? That’s the way my mind works. It all comes down to your values and priorities. Even the organizational experts agree with that. If you know what you want to do with your time, then you can decide the best way to spend it.
Your first step in getting organized should be to write down what you value – what means more to you than anything in your life right now? What are your priorities? Try to be specific – don’t go the “motherhood and apple pie” route. We know you value your family, maybe you have a faith-based value, but what exactly about your interactions with both do you want to make a priority?
For example, one of my family-based priorities is to have dinner with the family every night. That’s important to me. That’s time I want to spend with my family – not just enjoying a meal, but conversing, touching base with each member, laughing, sharing simple stories of our day.
If your kids are into organized sports, one of your priorities might be attending 80% of the practices and 100% of the games. Or another example of a value is staying fit or getting healthy. This would translate into a priority of working out 5x a week.
Give it some thought – make your priorities realistic – and write them down. You will be surprised at how much more successful you will be if you actually write them down. Values don’t usually change that much, but it’s worth revisiting your list a couple times a year to see if you still agree with them and the priorities you’ve set for yourself.
Now, you probably see where we are going with this – everything we spend time on is a choice. When I shop and cook my family’s dinner and clean up after, I am making a choice to spend time on one of my priorities, and that’s worth it to me. Having a neat as a pin work space doesn’t make the list of my priorities. Neither does having organized closets, basement, or garage. I spend a minimum amount of time on those things because I never make it down that far on my priorities list – or they don’t make the list at all.
Here is a subset of my list:
- Family: dinner together 5 out of 7 nights.
- Family: family gatherings and outings
- Family: vacations and travel
- Home: upkeep of our asset
- Home: pay our bills on time
- Home: clean kitchen and bathrooms
- Work: get to work on time every day
- Work: stay a valuable resource to my employer
- Leisure: Book club
- Leisure: Date night
- . . .
What is on your list?
