Now that the crazy of the holidays is over and everything has settled down, I want to talk about making time for the things I love or want to do while still getting what I need to do done. Back in October, I participated in a social media fast (link to post from october), which was quite enlightening. I was able to see just how much time I essentially waste doing things with no benefit. Staring at my phone mindlessly for hours isn’t benefiting me or anyone else, nor is sitting on my butt in front of the television. Since then I have been observing where my time goes, and man do I waste so much time doing nothing!

One of my goals for this new year is to be more productive, and more purposeful with my time. I work a full time job, 8 to 4:30 but add in travel time and i’m basically working 7:30 to 5. I lose an hour in the car monday through friday, at least that’s how I used to think of it. Normally, I would put some music on during my drive to work, but since trying to use my time to be something of meaning I have transitioned to either listening to my scriptures on my drives, listening to podcasts, or using it to practice learning a new language. I’ve decided on French and am going to be using duolingo. (I’ll do an update on how that is going once I get further in)

At work, the next 8 hours are just for that, work. Thankfully I am in love with my job and it brings me joy. Once I am home again, I always take an after work break. It’s always important to take some time to unwind and relax. I eat a snack and watch a show, a piece of a movie, or YouTube. I dedicate either 30 to 45 minutes to this depending on how drained I am feeling. After relaxing for a bit, it is typically time to start dinner. This year Dylan and I have started being more on top of meal planning and preparation. We actually plan to do a diet this year but we have a doctor checkup coming up this week so we are going to make sure it is okay because it is a unique one (I’ll give you updates on this one as I start it). That being said, we have been researching new meals, styles of cooking and so on so we can gain new skills, meals to add to our list and of course save money! Last year as we were reviewing our bills and spending habbits we realized we were spending a crazy amount of money going out and getting food and realized we needed to change our habbits! 

Another thing I plan to start doing more this year is sewing and baking more! I love sewing and baking, but honestly, it is exhausting. Creating a dress, skirt or whatever isn’t as simple as 1, 2, 3. You have to figure out the material you want, buy it, draw out your design, cut it out proportionately, then sew it and hope you don’t make any mistakes. I am also going to start baking a lot more, my goal is to open a bakery one day so I decided I need to start baking again. My wonderful mother-in-law got us a Kitchen Aid for Christmas so I need to start using it. I will be making videos of both so you can all see!

Now, these may seem like goals, and they are, but these are all things that I love! But in all honesty, I have gotten lazy. Like I said, I have just started wasting time doing nothing, I couldn’t count the hours I’ve wasted doing nothing and it frustrated me thinking of how much I could have accomplished if I just decided to be productive or how much further along with my goals I would be.

So how do you make the time for the things you love? Well honestly it is pretty simple. You have to evaluate your time first. Your time is your most valuable asset. Once you know everything you NEED to do, at that point break down the remainder of your time. What do you want to accomplish? How are you going to accomplish it? A couple of reminders:

1. You are one person and you cannot be everywhere at once
2. Focus on accomplishing single tasks at a time and not multiple
3. not everything will get done in a single day, it is okay if it spreads over time

I’ve honestly set a lot of goals this year, I have a lot to change about myself, as an individual, as a wife and so on. Don’t let others accomplishments stop you from reaching your goal! Everyone is running their own race and are one their own path, stay on yours!