Achieving goals, managing our time, and being productive are very rewarding, but if we don’t make time for the people in our lives we’re totally missing the point. My motivation for getting things done is so that I WILL have time for my family and myself.
One of my goals is to maintain a close relationship with my family. It won’t just happen automatically. What I do NOW to stay close to my family will have an effect on how close I am to them in the future. If you think it’s hard to find the time, read on, because there are LOTS of ways to work it into our already busy life.
Family Time
With your immediate family, it’s really easy to connect daily. Make the most of your mealtimes, for example, by finding out how everybody’s day went. In the evenings, you get lots of time with your family, whether it’s in the car or time at home. Even time helping your kids with homework will be appreciated someday. Every minute with your family is time well spent. Also, try to have fun, relaxing times in the evenings, even on weekdays.
Try to make the most of your weekends. When my kids were younger, we had what we called “family fun night”. We would get a couple movies from the video store (yes, that was a long time ago), and a pizza and had a fun night at home. Friday night was a “no bedtime, no stress, recuperate from the week” night. My kids still talk about how much fun that was. We made good memories!
Of course, special occasions are great for making memories. It’s definitely worth your time to make a “BIG DEAL” out of events like birthdays, anniversaries, special milestones. Plan ahead for these events. Every month, look at what special events are coming up, make a list of what needs to be done to get ready, and write into your planner when you will do certain things to get ready. Make it a “BIG DEAL”. It’s worth it.
Staying connected with our extended family is also important, but sometimes difficult, especially if they don’t live close by. My own family lives in another state, so I know how difficult it is to see them as often as I would like. We really have to plan ahead and make an effort. I’ve always gone to visit my family every summer, and also try to again in the spring or fall. It’s not nearly as often as it should be. Like everyone else, I get busy and don’t do this as often as I should. Besides visiting as much as possible, I definitely try to make frequent phone calls. It needs to be a priority! It sounds cliche but it’s so true. Life goes quickly. Enjoy your family and make LOTS of good memories.
Personal Time
Life can be so busy sometimes and if we don’t schedule time for things we want to do, we’ll just get burnt out. It’s much easier for me to be productive during the day if I have something fun to look forward to.
In reality, most of us don’t take time for things we want to do. Sometimes we just have to find a few bits of time during our day. For example, my new goal has been to exercise EVERY morning, so I’ve made that a part of my morning routine. I remind myself that if it helps me to be healthier in the future, it’s worth the time. Also, I love to read and never really have time to sit for hours reading, so I try to make a little time for it, such as a few minutes while eating lunch, or in the evening before bed. I also love to shop, so I usually go about once or twice a month and spend about 2-3 hours shopping or browsing. Retail therapy definitely works for me! In my previous post, I talked about goals, including personal goals and planning to do things you really WANT to do. Make plans to accomplish some things you’ve always wanted to do. Put them into your weekly and daily schedule and do it!
Simple Pleasures of Life
For most of us, we don’t have a lot of time or money for fun, and life can feel too much like drudgery. Sometimes we just need to try to enjoy some of the simple things in life. So, next time you’re overwhelmed, or bored, or feeling blue, slowwww down and enjoy some of these simple pleasures of life:
- listening to music in car or at home
- mealtimes with family (we’re blessed to be all together)
- morning coffee (warm and yummy!)
- short afternoon reading breaks
- reading books to kids at bedtime (I miss that soooo much)
- watching movies together as a family (again, we’re so blessed to be together)
- taking walks
- sitting outside on the deck
- holding your toddler’s hand (they grow up so fast)
- having lunch with your grown children (Wow! They’re so smart and mature)
- cuddling with your hubby (I got me a good one!)
- watching my cat purrrr just because I’m talking to her
Well, you get the idea. Enjoy your life and have FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aimee,
This is a beautiful website. The flow, the topics, well, the organization.
Good luck and have fun!
deb
Thank you Deb. I have a great team helping me. It’s been really fun.