Priorities

In today's world there are so many things vying for attention - spouse, kids, work, home, friends, acquaintances, volunteering, fun, reading, writing.. the list could go on an on and on. How do I manage all these things in my life and be fair to each of these aspects that are important to me. The answer is easy - Prioritize!!

Thats easier said than done. I decided my list would go - spouse, kids, home, work, friends ....  No sooner had I set this, when my younger son fell ill and of course the priorities shifted. So what do I do ?
After spending a great deal of thought on the way I do things, I realised I have a problem with boundaries. My work generally flowed over to my home life since I work from home a lot. It was hard for me to stop when I still had emails to be answered or someone was IM-ing me or a call came in. As time went and I became more and more conscious about how I was making my home a second place, I made conscious efforts to change. I am getting better though not quite there yet. I try my best to get off my chair in time to make sure dinner can be served by 7:30pm.

I'm still struggling but I do try to stop my typing and train of thoughts to respond to my kids. I try to understand what a bickering between them is about instead of just screaming at them to be quiet and let me finish my work [which I should have put away an hour back]. But I have learnt to appreciate that if I stick to proper time management, I do my work well and I also have time for my family. I get to enjoy my kids' talks and also listen to my husband who shares his views. I am not hardpressed for time trying to get dinner done and getting the kids to bed. I am more relaxed and have time to clean up so when I come down in the morning the next day, the kitchen looks clean and I start the day feeling good :)

Prioritizing is hard work but then nothing worth having ever came easy ;-)