Balancing Acts.

Here are the balls I'm juggling...

*2 jobs = between 55-75 hours per week total.
*2 charities that I volunteer for - both in event related positions
*Searching for a condo
*Maintaining my current house (w/a roommate)
*Book Club (one must be cultured, right?)
*Friendships/Family
*Social networking - let's be honest between 2 blogs, facebook, myspace, & now twitter this totally counts as a ball I juggle daily.
*Working out
*Church - including Sunday mornings, bible study on Wednesday night, and a creative team for the Middle School Group I just agreed to be a contributor for.

Ok that will do for now though you can assume that like you I maintain a household including keeping up with bills, bank accounts, cleaning, shopping, cooking, groceries, bday cards, etc. all the normal day-to-day things that I'm going to give items on the list but we all face. I think they should be counted at least mentally.

So as we all juggle our own balls, or priorities, we have to stop occasionally to evaluate how we are doing at these things. Am I maintaining my house at the level I need too? Am I putting the right amount of time and effort into my family? My friends? Is my work suffering in the name of my other interests and commitments by my level of energy and mental capacity I'm left with when I get there? And so on.

This is a process I learned to live by growing up with my Dad. As a Coach he is always evaluating and re-evaluating systems for achieving goals. He taught me to face life in much the same way. I was challenging myself over the last week to consider this.

As I spent time pouring over my calender for the rest of 2009 (no lie, I really did look at all of it) I had to ask myself if I was spending my time in a way that lines up with the priorities I have set. To use another famous Clyde-ism I am now doing some tweaking which includes:

- Booking a flight & a long weekend to see both my sister & brother-in-law as well as my wonderful, loyal guy friends the Johnson's (Travis, Phillip, and Bennett ...and family!). The boys have made 2 trips to see me since I moved to Florida a year ago, it's my turn to show them some love in their home state of North Carolina. Rachel (my sister) and I were the best of friends all growing up but have done a less than exemplary job of keeping up with each others lives these last few years.
-I up'd my phone time this week - using my time in the car to it's full potential and checking up on my friends for no specific reasons, without an agenda. Just asking them how life is going.
- I left my phone in the car every day at the gym this week and read my book. Knowledge is power friends - use your time wisely.
- I thought about my relationships and friendship the way I think about my closet when I clean it out. And I took the necessary steps towards some revamping. If you think that sounds harsh - do some soul searching. Better to be honest.
- I made the decision to use my PTO wisely - planning a trip to see my parents & baby sis, a trip to see my older sis and family friends, and to work a charity event in Indy for APD.

Next up...facing the facts as I consider whether my finances are reflecting the priorities I claim. I'm getting real, first with myself and then you with dear readers. Buckle up & join me.

Love,
B