Today.

What do you really want out of today?

Let’s set aside the worldly dreams for a moment (which are wonderful and all, but this conversation is for right here, right now). The way you answer the question “what do you really want?” can, and should, dictate how you plan and spend your day.

List off your things of importance

We all have things that are important to us. These things of importance ought to shape and define the way we live our lives. If they do, that means we’re fitting those things nicely into our daily routines because they matter to us. If they don’t, we need to ask ourselves why. Why are the things that I find important NOT shaping and defining the way I live my life – and more importantly, what changes can I make to ensure that they do?

Here are mine:

  • Spending time with my kids – Quality time (not just stand around, get chores done while you’re in my presence kind of time).
  • Spending time with my husband – Both time alone the two of us and time with the kids, when it’s all four of us.
  • Writing – For myself (meaning not only writing for my clients’ projects).
  • Time outside – I love being outside. In nature. All the elements. Whatever. If I don’t have fresh air in me, I don’t feel right.
  • Cooking yummy, healthy meals – This is for me, but also my whole family. I believe it is my duty to make sure I’m feeding everyone stuff that tastes great, but also packs a nutritional punch. This takes up A LOT of time, but I just can’t bring myself to do anything less. It matters.
  • Exercising – Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been extremely active. I was even an international competitive athlete for several years. Exercise and daily movement are ingrained in me. If I’m docile even for a day, I feel way out of whack.
  • Sleep – Yes, I value my sleep because if I don’t get enough of it a few days in a row, this affects my entire being and I don’t act like myself, which puts me in a foul state.

This is my daily importance list, not my monthly, or yearly or lifetime list. It’s important to acknowledge the difference. My things of importance extend far beyond this list when we change the timeline. But remember, this is about right here, right now.

Plan your day accordingly

Since I’ve already blurted my list to you, let’s keep using me as the ginny pig.

If kids, husband, nature time, writing, healthy cooking, exercise and sleep are important to me today, then I need to figure out a way to plug in each and every one of them.

Life is a giant balancing act. The better we are at committing to the things we find important and finding ways to balance them so they fit in our daily lives, the happier we’ll be. We can’t be everywhere all the time. We must pick and choose. Sometimes this is hard (it definitely is for me!).

I have the tendency to make a choice, for example, “I’m going upstairs to work for an hour, kiddos! See you in a bit.” But then, I’ll be in my office, working, or rather, trying to work and my mind floods with feelings of guilt and regret that I’m not spending quality time with my kids. Another one: blocking off time to cook, but then as I’m cooking, I’m not embracing it, even though it’s something important to me! I’m thinking about the work I still need to do, or the fact that I wish I was just hanging out reading on the couch with my husband, or playing with my kids.

Follow through

What I know I need to do is carve out the time for each thing of importance in my life, and then follow through, stay focused, be in it, and give it my all right in those moments.

Once the day is planned and mapped out, that’s it. Now it’s time for us to perform! Let us remind ourselves that we’ve plugged in each task for a reason – because it’s important to us. And therefore, we stick to it. We balance. We use the time wisely.

No thinking about it anymore. No second-guessing or mind wandering.

Just do it.

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