expectations

Blogging break? What blogging break?

As you can see, I snuck in each day during the weekend just to share a few tidbits here and there, so by looking at my blog you wouldn't have even been able to tell that I had considered myself "on a break"!

I've been processing a lot of thoughts lately, and I wanted to share them as a way for me to sort through all that's swirling around in my head. So, please forgive me for the long (and possibly boring?) post I'm about to share. Let's just pretend this is eloquently written and I have grabbed a hold of your attention. The. Entire. Time.

On Wednesday night I had come to the conclusion that I had been avoiding a lot of my priorities lately and I began to wonder why? My initial thought was that I was spending too much time blogging, so I instantly made the decision (at 11:00 PM) to give it up for awhile and so became this post...some late night rambling.

But then I got to thinking...

In general, I have some high expectations for myself, my life, and anything that I am responsible for. This has always been the case for me, and is often why people (and myself) call me a perfectionist. Although it has its goods being known as "one of those", it also has its hindrances. I tend to overstress myself to get it done right. This kind of thinking has struck in a new area of my life - blogging!

So, I got to thinking some more...

It would be one thing for blogging to be my little outlet where I could come and go as I please (which is what I had intended it to be), share what I want, and comment on other blogs here and there when I had the time. But because of my need for high expectations of myself I was turning this outlet into a "must have something to post every day or I'll die trying (or just stay up way too late doing it!)". And my need to comment on EVERY post I read was really getting out of hand (although, oddly enough, I actually love to do that). It's just not realistic...as I'm sure you all know.

So, my conclusion is this...

My blog does not have to be a place of strict daily posting if I do not have the time for it to be. I should be able to share what I want when I want and have no agenda. I'm pretty sure that's the whole point of blogging. A journal of sorts. I do not have to spend hours reading through blogs and commenting all the time. I'll do it when I can and enjoy it when it happens.

To be perfectly honest, blogging was not the only thing that was sucking up my time. I am just learning that I need to get my priorities straight and so I am in the process of figuring out a daily schedule for myself. Some of you might laugh at this, but I thrive on having things planned out. I know I won't always be able to keep this schedule, so I'll remind myself to be flexible! This schedule will also help me figure out when I need to work on my "outside the home" commitments (MOPS & Stampin' Up!) and when I need to make time for play time with the kids. I'm in the process of figuring that all out, but when I have the schedule done, I'll be sharing it with you!!

Lastly, many of you shared some great tips and thoughts for me to be realistic about my blogging and I listened to every one of them!

I love the idea that Rhonda suggested about getting through my morning routine before I look at the computer. Usually the first thing I do is check my e-mail. But I've decided that I need to get dressed and ready for the day before that becomes at all a priority. She also suggested setting a timer if I do sit down to do something on the computer. Because you all know how you can get sucked in!

Tanya shared the idea about keeping the computer OFF until I get done what needs to be done. Sounds scary to me actually...turn the computer off?! Which probably means it needs to happen.

And thank you to my good friend Leanna for reminding me that we can't always be totally balanced all the time because life is sometimes just too crazy. Love you, friend!

Thanks for letting me "talk it through" with you! I would love to hear more tips on how you keep your daily schedule, especially those with younger kids who have not started school yet. What does your day look like? How do you get it all done and have fun doing it? Of course, I'd like to hear from everyone on how you juggle life...with little kids or not!

And I suppose that in all my rambling I could have put you to sleep, so for that, I apologize. It was definitely enough to knock this little guy out...

Hope you all have a happy Monday and thanks for listening!!