Back in the day (circa 2010) my Mondays to Fridays looked like this:
5am wake up > throw down a coffee while checking emails > high-five my husband as he comes in from his run and I head out for mine > get home and jump in the shower > get ready for work > get child ready for daycare > get in the car > daycare drop-off > get to office > head down bum up for next 7 hours > daycare pickup > get home > make dinner > eat dinner > juggle child’s dinner/bath/bed routine with husband > child to bed > back on the computer to catch up from work not achieved during the working day > bed
Are you exhausted? Yep, I was too.
I have always been someone who likes to be busy and can tolerate a very high workload so the problem with the above was the rushing. Every minute of my day from waking to bedtime was a rush. The only things that saved my sanity at the time was the fact that I made sure my morning shower was a long one and I read in bed every night before going to sleep. I was highly stressed out but coping.
‘Coping’ is a horrible way to live life because it means you are always one little contingency away from losing the fragile equilibrium you have achieved.
Recently someone posted this quote on twitter:
An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth
~ Bonnie Friedman
I stared at that quote and thought to myself “why yes, it really is!”
If I look back on the last few years or so and ask myself what is the biggest change I have made, it is to do with the amount of time I spend rushing around. I have noticed in the mornings, if the whole family stays in bed till 7am, then it’s a mad rush to get us all out the door at the right time. If I get up at 6am however, I can meander my way through the morning routine in a much more chilled fashion.
If I get to have a day at home by myself (with Ant at work and the kids at daycare) then once they’ve left the house I can meander my way through ‘getting the house in order’ which means when I sit at my desk to start work, my brain is nice and chilled.
Then when everyone arrives home in the afternoon we all meander my way through the afternoon/nightly routine.
What all this means is that when I do have to kick up into hyper-productive mode these days, it doesn’t take the mental toll it used to. Which in turn means that I am less stressed out in general. Given I don’t do stress very well, this isn’t just good for me, it is good for everyone around me!
So how does one go about freeing up time in the day to meander and reduce the rush? Well try the ten tips here. Every tip is not for everyone obviously, but if you could put even one or two of them into action, the little pocket of time they free up might be just the sanity saver you’ve been looking for 