Focus on What Matters Most...and Tips on How to Avoid Exhaustion

Hi Moms and Mom-Types. I just signed my lil big boy up for his first basketball league (non-competitive, of course). I thought about the schedule that I will have and almost decided to un-sign him. Why? Well, because I will be EXHAUSTED. I thought to myself, One more item to add to the Daily Task List and one more line item for the household (single income) budget. Grrr! But then, in my mind, I fast forwarded to his life fifteen years later and realized that he will no longer be with me to experience daily life...and my growl vanished.

What matters most at this point in his life (and mine) is the time we spend together learning new things and just being a kid with his mom.

Working moms and mom-types, I know it's challenging to fit everything in but we must focus on what matters most...our kids and participating in their lives.

Blessings,
Aurellia

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Ways to Avoid Exhaustion from a Busy Schedule: (in no order)

1. Find your own quiet time

Carve out some time in your schedule to just sit and be quiet. Prayer. Meditation. Yoga. These work at centering your energy/mind.

2. Get others to help you complete tasks

I know that you don't trust everyone with your child, so you may not be able to have someone else complete a task which your child is involved. However, you can ask a co-worker, friend, family member complete other tasks for you (mail run, grocery store, etc).

3. Eliminate items from your Schedule/Task List that really are NOT important or necessary

Let's get real, some things are just not THAT important. I am not to judge what isn't important on your task list but you can simply weigh its importance by the energy you DON'T have. Is it a matter of someone's "life or death" that a task must be completed? That is heavy but it's true. Does someone's life or death depend on you attending the quilt making party? Probably not, unless it is the party that you are hosting. Get what I'm saying?

4. Laugh

Laughing is all apart of our moods and energy because it creates endorphine power. Endorphines work for us and is necessary. "[Laughter] enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain" (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034).

5. Maintain a Proper Diet

This is the area where I am the worst. I get so busy that I forget to eat, believe it or not. But our bodies need to be nourished in order to have the energy to take care of all that we need. We must do better if we aren't maintaining a proper diet.

6. Get at least 7 hours of sleep

Sleep has been studied time and time again. Get some sleep and make sure you rest. "Sleep is not a luxury," says Dr. James O'Brien, medical director of the Boston SleepCare Center in Waltham, Mass. "It's a necessity for optimal functioning" (http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2009/01/why-sleep-is-so-important.html)