Waking up to the gun

I wake up every morning to a gunshot.

It’s followed by an announcer-like voice say “Aaaaaaaannnnndddd… they’re off.”

I’m in the horse race of my life as soon as my feet hit the carpet. By the time I drop the kids off at school (less than two hours after I wake up), I feel like I should be close to the finish line. The truth is that I’m barely out of the gate in a race that likely will continue for 12 more hours.

I try not to complain about my busy schedule. I did it to myself. I understand that it’s not forever, and I feel pretty blessed over all. That being said (written), even a Superwoman gets tired! More than anything, I get tired of feeling rushed; like I never have enough time to do anything well.

Perhaps that is why I enjoyed Leo Babauta’s blog entry on How Not to Hurry. I especially enjoyed the “Tips for a Slower-Paced Life” at the bottom of the blog. All of the tips are good, although many of them are super difficult (unplugging!). Here are a few of my personal favorites and how I’m trying to do them:

• Do less. If you haven’t read Leo’s book, The Power of Less, it really will help you cut back. I read the book and try to work on this regularly. I can honestly say that I don’t feel as badly about saying no to things that impact what’s important to me, especially family time.
• Have fewer meetings. I’m usually not in charge of my meetings, as they are called by others. However, I try to avoid as many as possible by settling business when the meeting is called if it can be done quickly.
• Give yourself time to get ready and get there. I have started scheduling my drive time and family time. This helps me decide if I can schedule another item. It also helps me say no to things that interrupt my important time.
• Realize that if it doesn’t get done, that’s OK. There’s always tomorrow. I had a secretary who used to laugh at the amount of work I would take home each evening. One day she said “Can’t that wait until tomorrow?” Just asking the question made me put down the bag and have a stress-free evening. Now I regularly ask this question. If it can wait, I let it.
• Slowly eliminate commitments. I am learning (slowly) to be selfish with my time. More specifically, to be selfish with my family time. Because of this, I am forced to make my work time more productive so I can use my evenings for what matters most. This means cutting out things I was doing that really weren’t important to me.

[Via http://thekrg.wordpress.com]

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