As busy moms, we have many different forces competing for our attention. For me, the primary forces are my 4 children, but also my husband, business, home, friends, extended family, health… the list goes on. It can become overwhelming to try to meet the needs of all the various people and things that are competing for your limited resources.
I have started to think of my life as a pie (I know this sounds ridiculous but bear with me). When my kids were little, my attention was not divided at all: they got the whole pie. I devoted almost no energy elsewhere. Looking back, I think that was probably a really unhealthy way to live my life! But then again, I think many of us go through that stage in which the kids are so little and needy, and there is simply no time to focus on anything else.
Now that the kids are at a more manageable age, with the youngest in 1st grade, I have found what I think is a good balance. The pie is divided into pieces such as family, friends, husband, work, and exercise. When I sit down each Sunday night and plan my week in my momAgenda, I make sure that I have scheduled in sufficient time for all those priorities. My kids still get the most attention, but now there is a balance with my other interests. I actually exercise now, I go out with friends regularly, and even squeeze in a date night with my hubby on occasion.
What about you? What pieces are in your pie, and how do you ensure you are devoting time to all of them?
Wow! My husband and I just had a conversation like this! Only it was more of an argument about how much of my “pie” this week is devoted to cleaning my house because MY MOTHER is coming to visit for my daughter’s fourth birthday. All enjoyment for keeping house is gone and it is replaced by nagging thoughts of “is there dust on my toddler’s toy box” and “are the pieces of hardened goop fused to the underneath of the table where my three-year-old sits” and “is all the laundry done so that there are no piles sitting around.” *sigh* Luckily, I used my momAgenda to make a “Plan of Attack” in an attempt to save my sanity!