A few weeks ago my body sent me a billboard-sized message
that I need to achieve more balance in my life. Work especially was a huge
problem but family, home, and life of course all contributed to stress-filled
morass that was my life because no one is an island (nod to John Dunne, I
actually wanted to use no woman but opted for political correctness instead).
Balance has always been a problem for me in every sense
of the word. I am a total klutz and always have been. My first real injury was
when I jumped from my uncle’s barn loft and completely missed the pile of hay
that was my target (and it was a pretty big pile!). My cousins still laugh
about that incident but then it wasn’t their ankle that was sprained. Of
course, I still laugh at their attempts to hide my injury from my father so I
suppose that makes us even.
However, the real problem is that I want it all. I want
to spend time with my family and friends doing fun stuff while still having
time to read, write, and relax as I choose and of course succeed professionally
and have a spotless home and garden. Stop laughing, a girl can dream.
I now understand that I can have it all but that doesn’t
mean I have to do it all, so for a few weeks I stepped off the treadmill. I did
very little work at all and focused on getting my house and life in order. I
delegated like never before. Thankfully I work with some pretty awesome people
so despite my doctor/husband/mother-enforced sabbatical no projects were harmed
by this experiment and I was feeling pretty great. Then came Monday…
Monday marked the start of three summer programs (the
Morehead Writing Project Summer Institute and Global Graffiti Writing Camp as
well as an Online Summer Institute that I am leading) so I headed to campus for
the first time in three weeks. After a whirlwind day at camp and on campus I
then headed home for an afternoon and evening of playing catch-up online. I
then repeated the process on Tuesday but I was so tired by the time I left
campus I started the drive home without my 11-year-old son and had to turn
around to pick him up from camp. Clearly I had, once again, taken on too much.
It was just too soon to do all this.
But I am learning from my mistakes. I took the day off
from a trip to campus to stay home and catch up on contacts and prep for my
online class – and to do a little writing.
Tomorrow I will try again and make sure to take time out during the day
so I won’t wear down/out before the clock runs out – I hope.
I am still working out priorities and pacing and just
plain turning off and walking away (for a break and for the day). What are your strategies? How do you manage
your life balance?
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