Talk About it Tuesday

Are You Making Your Life Worth It Or Are You Wasting It?

Over the last year, I’ve become more intentional with creating the life I dream of. I started doing an inventory of areas in my life that weren’t necessarily fruitful. One of the biggest areas: I wasted time on social media. Not Facebook or Instagram, but YouTube. Now that I’m crafting and working on becoming a furniture artist (Yes, that’s a real thing), I’ve sought to learn as much as I could from people that were currently doing it. This makes sense and definitely contributes to me becoming a better me, but often during the suggested videos I’ll have one random thing pop up and I’m totally down the rabbit hole before I know it. In order to avoid wasting my time, if I find myself in a rabbit hole moment I will begin cleaning or folding clothes. This definitely helps pull me out quickly. The older I get the more I realize that I don’t want to waste my life away with nothing to show for it. While I’ve improved, I still have so much further to go. I wish I could get back some the time I wasted watching videos of others making money while living their lives, while complaining that I wasn’t where I desire to be. I know I’m not the only person that has been stuck in that rut. So what have I do to turn this around?

1. Plan my day around being productive, but allowing myself time to “break”- We are human and need to not always feel bogged down with just getting things done. As a stay at home mom, there will always be things that have to be taken care of in this house. I have to prioritize and make sure I’m giving myself some time to do things that I enjoy that don’t involve work. This is probably the area I struggle the most because I’ve decided that I have lifestyle/home environment I desire and am willing to work to create that. Cleanliness is a big part of that...having 5 people that are home all the time does not help at all, but I know that a dirty house means I can’t be creative at all so I put in the work.

2. Maximize the time I’m in the rabbit hole- As mentioned above, I’ve learned to take more initiative to figure out things that can be multitasked and work towards completing them while listening to my random YouTube videos. Folding clothes, cleaning a bathroom, washing dishes, etc. all require little thinking so I do my best to work with what I have. I know I’m not the only person that ends up with several loads of laundry that need folding. The biggest thing is to not allow myself to get too cozy on the couch and just sit down. I typically will fold clothes while standing ( I know....it’s not the most fun option but it keeps me from getting stuck sitting down) or just do tasks that make me move around. Not getting stuck in one place is half of the battle. 

3. Don’t make excuses- I can rationalize almost anything, but the truth of the matter is if it’s not helping me reach my goals it’s not worth it. I recently looked at my vision board and got re-inspired to get back to work. There were several things that I can admit I wasn’t working towards like I should have been. Also, excuses don’t produce results. It is not beneficial to preach things to my kids and not put them into practice so I’ve worked very hard on becoming someone that can be followed versus just heard.

4. I prioritize me- Yes being a mom and wife is important, but being Deann is just as important. I owe it to me to make certain that I include me in my day. There will always be laundry and other things that other people need, but my goals will only happen when I put forth effort to complete them. I make my calendar everyday alongside a few other tasks that contribute to the house. I stopped trying to do everything on the weekend or choosing a day or two during the week to accomplish everything. I do a little everyday and this allows for more time to complete things for me.

What type of legacy do you plan on leaving your children? This has been heavy on my shoulders for a while...so I’m now about getting things done. I allow my kids to see the joy in completing something as well as the struggle during the process. I want them to know the possibilities with hard work and determination. I refuse to get to the end of my life and have a bunch of regrets. I want to live fully even if I’m not successful at everything I attempt. I want to grow every single day because I understand that if I’m not growing, I’m doing the opposite. Staying stagnant is no longer an option and neither is just life just being good enough. What are you doing to be more productive?