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Living a life out of balance can become a habit. A life that lacks focus and direction will soon become unbalanced. When this repeatedly happens this unbalance actually becomes the norm. It can begin to feel comfortable. One major area that tends to quickly become unbalanced is your daily schedule.
Those who live a unbalanced tend to always run late. I lived my life for a long time in a state of tardiness. People began to expect me to arrive 5 to 15 minutes late. I was late for work, for church, for doctor's appointments, etc. If I was supposed to be somewhere, you could guarantee that I was going to be late. Rushing from Point A to Point B was just how I lived.
I had subconsciously began to justify my habitual tardiness. I had convinced myself that I was always late because I always had too much to do. But then I realized that I have control over my schedule. I finally decided that I was tired of always having to drive like a maniac to get somewhere. I got tired of the undue stress. This stress was completely unnecessary.
There are several keys to keeping your schedule balanced:
1. Be realistic with your time estimates. Don't underestimate the amount of time it will take to accomplish a specific task. I would often do this in hopes that I could squeeze more tasks into 24 hours. This doesn't work. Also, include the amount of time you need to get to and from a destination. In addition, build in a some time for the unexpected (i.e. traffic).
2. Write Your Schedule Down. Writing down your schedule helps you to mentally plan out your day. This also allows you the opportunity to look at your schedule and give it a "sanity check". Looking at your schedule gives you a snapshot of your day. You can check to see if you're overbooked (this was also a bad habit of mine). The reality is that you can't be in two places at one time.
A good idea is to sit down at the beginning of each month and write down your commitments. Its also a great idea to do this at the beginning of each week. That way you can make any changes to your schedule as necessary.
3. Schedule Some Me Time. As busy women, we sometimes put our needs last on our list. One way to help combat this mentality is to actually schedule some personal time. I recommend a little time each day. You don't have to allot yourself several hours. However, schedule yourself some "Me" time to take a relaxing bubble bath or give yourself 30 minutes to read some of that book you have on your nightstand. Find the time. Some like to schedule their "Me" time first thing in the morning. Others wait until everyone is in bed at night. Do what works for you, but just give yourself some time.
4. Say No. Sometimes, we just have to say "No." It's OK. As women, we sometimes overextend ourselves. We also agree to do things that we really don't want to do. When asked to do something, consciously think about your schedule. What does your day, week and month look like. Is this an extremely busy time at home or at work? Do you want to do it? Factor these things in before committing.
Keeping these four points in mind will assist you in building a balanced schedule and a balanced life. It may take some time to get the schedule down. But that's ok. Continue to work on your scheduling skills each day. Then it won't be long before your develop the positive habit of showing up on time.
