When I became a contributor for the Brazen Careerist blog network, I told myself that I would make time to post every day. The network is full of successful, busy people, most with full time jobs outside their blogging duties, just like me. I thought, if they can do it, then so can I.
Well……time for a reality check.
I have a very full and busy life. This is nothing new; I have been going at top speed for years, thinking that I would never burn out. I have always assumed that I would sleep when I got “old”. I’m not sorry or regretful for this.
I recently made a list of all my long and short term goals, in all areas of my life; personal, professional, financial and educational. It’s a little late for a New Year’s resolution, but as you may have guessed, I’m running a little behind.
Why? I forgot to schedule it.
(Sounds crazy I know but read on, I do have a point.)
One of the things I noticed about my lists was that in each area I made some mention of getting more organized or increasing my quality time, whether it be at work, with my husband, my children or just my “me” time. I am thinking that the key to both these items may be the same.
I read a great blog post today about how having a schedule can really improve your quality of life. Rather than dictate each day, (that would be boring) a schedule helps to keep you on track, and ensures that the good stuff (like hiking, date night, or baseball with the kids) doesn’t accidentally get overlooked while you are doing more “important” things.
My planner keeps me from forgetting birthdays and special occasions, which make me happy, because I love to celebrate. Thanks to the calendar, I am habitually early, which sets a good example for my kids. It also reminds me to take time every day to read the comics (conveniently delivered to my inbox!), reach out to others, share what I know and learn at least one new thing along the way.
What it doesn’t do is this: It doesn’t force me to abide by other people’s deadlines. A deadline at work is one thing, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up what’s important to me, I just have to manage my time in a way that allows for both. Not always easy, but definitely do-able.
So my slightly delayed resolution is this: to continue to improve my planner/organization system while making a conscious effort not to go overboard on time restraints. We are given so little time in the grand scheme of things. Why waste it on worry?
I love to write and I am glad that my posts are at times amusing, and even a little helpful to some. Do I post everyday? No. Will I ever? Probably not, but if I am doing the things I love then I am going to stop worrying about other people’s time lines. I have enough things to do, experience and remember of my own.
Well……time for a reality check.
I have a very full and busy life. This is nothing new; I have been going at top speed for years, thinking that I would never burn out. I have always assumed that I would sleep when I got “old”. I’m not sorry or regretful for this.
I recently made a list of all my long and short term goals, in all areas of my life; personal, professional, financial and educational. It’s a little late for a New Year’s resolution, but as you may have guessed, I’m running a little behind.
Why? I forgot to schedule it.
(Sounds crazy I know but read on, I do have a point.)
One of the things I noticed about my lists was that in each area I made some mention of getting more organized or increasing my quality time, whether it be at work, with my husband, my children or just my “me” time. I am thinking that the key to both these items may be the same.
I read a great blog post today about how having a schedule can really improve your quality of life. Rather than dictate each day, (that would be boring) a schedule helps to keep you on track, and ensures that the good stuff (like hiking, date night, or baseball with the kids) doesn’t accidentally get overlooked while you are doing more “important” things.
My planner keeps me from forgetting birthdays and special occasions, which make me happy, because I love to celebrate. Thanks to the calendar, I am habitually early, which sets a good example for my kids. It also reminds me to take time every day to read the comics (conveniently delivered to my inbox!), reach out to others, share what I know and learn at least one new thing along the way.
What it doesn’t do is this: It doesn’t force me to abide by other people’s deadlines. A deadline at work is one thing, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up what’s important to me, I just have to manage my time in a way that allows for both. Not always easy, but definitely do-able.
So my slightly delayed resolution is this: to continue to improve my planner/organization system while making a conscious effort not to go overboard on time restraints. We are given so little time in the grand scheme of things. Why waste it on worry?
I love to write and I am glad that my posts are at times amusing, and even a little helpful to some. Do I post everyday? No. Will I ever? Probably not, but if I am doing the things I love then I am going to stop worrying about other people’s time lines. I have enough things to do, experience and remember of my own.
Cheers!
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4 comments:
Great post! Sometimes our goals can be a little inflated I think. When I started my blog, I thought I would post every day too. Then I realized how much time and effort that would take. I saw that it would benefit neither me nor my readers to post just for the sake of checking it off of my daily to do list.
I post a new entry on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays now. That's what's manageable for my schedule; that's how often I can turn out a thoughtful, well-written post with my readers in mind. Consistency and quality are more important than quantity, I think.
Thanks for the link! :)
@Holly
So True. I really want to serve my readers and churning out a daily post I think would really be a disservice to them.
I take a lot of care with preparing each post, doing the research and keeping a lookout for great links.
Quality over quantity any day. I love your posts as well, so put together and relevant.
Thanks for the comment!
It's a good point, and you write about it very well.
I also laugh at not keeping up with schedules.
Then I remember that we are all susceptible to this. It even has a formal name of "the planning fallacy."
Here's one good article on that topic:
http://www.overcomingbias.com/2007/09/planning-fallac.html
@Presh
Great Link for the Planning Fallacy. I enjoyed the article. Thanks for your comment.
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