One Pretty Little Box: Thoughtful Thursdays: Priorities & Time

This morning as I working in my home before leaving for work, I realized that I am indeed doing what I have set out to do all week. Ya'll know I love my Erin Condren life planner, and have been pretty good at using it on a regular basis. However, as much as I love "to do" lists, I have began to allow myself to put a daily "to do" list in my planner for each day and I GET TO check off each box as it's done!! Yes.. that excites me!

Enough about my planner. I plan on (ha ha ~ pun intended) sharing more about that on Saturday. This evening however I wanted to share with ya about the importance of knowing what your priorities are. What you make time for you will achieve. It's completely up to you if you make time for positive or negative. Trust me, I have done both and have found by experience for this to be true.

This week I have made a huge effort in the way I care for our home. Well, mainly in how I have managed my time. I typically work a nine to five shift. One day a week it is seven to five. Thankfully because I work in education, I have weekends off. For a long time, I would do a few things during the week but the bulk of my housework fell to the weekends. The work got done, but ... little did I know I was missing out.

See, the weekends are often when my family is also home and many times they are doing things I am cleaning or running errands or both. OR I do that and then do whatever was planned ~ but I am either so tired or just mentally "done" that I couldn't really enjoy the time with them.

This week I have set up my "free time" each day in a way that allows me to make sure that this weekend I have plenty of time AND a clean house! I also made sure dinners were in that time ~ and in the process realized that I *think* I am getting my priorities a bit better aligned to not only what NEEDS to be done but what I want to do as well.

I am a writer and in the midst of a few projects. During the week it isn't always feasible to spend a lot of time writing and still keeping the home priorities in line. And then I have been having to spend so much time catching up on the weekend by the time I DID get to sit down and write I was easily distracted.

Priorities
1. Family: The time I spend with them, I want the environment to be clean, peaceful, and enjoyable for everyone.
2. Home: Again ~ I desire it to be clean, peaceful, and enjoyable for everyone. Even if company dropped in unexpectedly ~I know that I wouldn't be embarrassed!
3. Meals: It is important for me to have good hearty meals for my family. Dinner especially since that is our one meal we often eat together.
4. Writing: It is my calling! I am working on my craft ~ and can so see myself becoming a full time writer very easily.

I work outside the home, so that schedule fits in .... but not before # 1-3 listed above. The thing is, I KNOW my priorities. Do you?! Unless you know what is really important to you ~ you will not know where to begin, and where the chaos needs to end.