Juggling Everyday Tasks

"What? It's the end of the day? But I didn't get it all done!"

That's how I often feel on any given weekday. I am a Mom of three, I work part-time from home, and you would think I would be used to juggling it all. You would think......
Except for the fact that I have two lists running constantly in my head. Okay, maybe more than that, but let's just say two for starters. There's the list of to-do's that have to be done around the house and for daily living, and then there's the "What I want to do for myself" list.
That's a new list for me, as my youngest is now in school all day. I've been looking forward to creating that list for, oh....14 years now.
Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed every minute of my kids before they were school-aged. It's just that.... well, it's kind of like the Mom's right of passage. On to the next chapter!!

Hmmmm......what would I really like to do? Sometimes I'd like to go to a class at the health club, sometimes I'd just like to make it to the drive-thru at Starbuck's, and other times I'd like to schedule a Mom's Night Out (MNO) to rejuvinate with friends.

So what? you might say. We all have things we need to juggle and maybe that list of mine could be tackled by prioritizing, or picking and choosing? Great! Problem solved!  But wait........
I think I have something else to offer.
What is your emotional state during any given busy day? How do you feel? Do you feel hurried? Stressed? Pulled in many different directions?? Like you don't have enough time?
Do you ever notice how some days things seem to be running along smoothly, and then something happens and the day just falls completely apart??  Things can change in an instant. Things can change in an instant with just one thought!

What? A thought? That sounds too easy!  Well, at first I thought so too. Recently,  I've made a conscious effort to just focus on a good feeling thought. Right, it did not get anything checked off my to-do list, but I just added a little good feeling to my day. Just hoping to feel better, really. It's a start. We all know that if we want something to be different change has to happen somewhere, right?

"Really? How could that possibly help when I'm being pulled in all different directions?" It can help because you choose in that moment to pause, and move in a better direction with one good thought, rather than getting caught up in a downward motion with a stressfull thought. For me, one stressful thought usually leads to the next, and the next, and the next, and sometimes I think back to how my day started and it was bound to be stressful! Why? Because I woke  up with something stressful. It was a thought. Then it multipied and here I am! "What? It's the end of the day?"

So, yes, I didn't get it all done. But I've had several thoughts that are good today, and the more I focus on those, the better I feel. The better I feel, the less stressed I am.

I invite you to try an experiment. The next time you're feeling stressed in the middle of a busy day, think one thought that makes you feel good. It could be the last time you went out with your spouse, or friends, or it could be something as simple as your little one saying, "I love you."
It can be anything, big or small. A life-long dream, or an appreciation for fluffy white clouds.
Whatever it is, I am hoping that you'll find the same thing I did. A little peace of mind in juggling everyday tasks.