Someone once told me that we all will go to our graves not having got it all done. I used to agree wholeheartedly. Now I call bullshit!
Yes, I live a pretty busy life. And yes, I live much of that life questioning how I can possibly get everything done that I want to get done. I’ve even spent many a day – many a year actually! – living the words of Lt. Col. Willie Sharp declaring, “No time!” in the movie Armageddon as the astronauts frantically try to blow up and get off of the asteroid (feel free to read one of my recent blog postsfor more on that). These days I’m continuing to recognize that there is an abundance of time in my life to get done what really needs to get done.
Kids. Work. Partners and significant others. Friends. Family. Volunteer commitments. Personal hobbies. How about just some good old fashioned “me time” simply to relax and recharge? These all factor into determining how we spend our time, and seeing the list in writing almost convinces me that there isn’t enough time to get it all done.
The cool thing though is that we don’t have to get it all done at one time. In fact, it would be impossible to do so! Maybe more importantly, not all of these elements of life require as much of our attention at any given time. Kids require more attention when they are younger or perhaps outside of school hours. Volunteer commitments will always benefit from more of our time, however by the very nature of these commitments they only require what energy we can legitimately give to them.
As long as we keep everything in our life on our radar, we can safely shift priorities in any given moment, and in doing so manage all of our commitments at all times. With that as our foundation for living very full and balanced lives then, it truly is possible to get it all done. We just need to be intentional about how many balls we choose to juggle at any given time and be aware of which ones are at rest next to us as soon as we are ready for more.
So stop stressing out. Life’s too short to lose precious energy in that way. Start relating to the game of life as a game, and play all out. I’m confident you’ll not only have more fun but also get much more done!
