Mumblings on Time

{NYC at Christmas. Last week December 2012}

Doesn't it seem like just yesterday it was Christmas? Now I find myself in complete disbelief that we are in the early days of March. I constantly find myself saying "a few weeks ago..." when really the interesting and witty story I was leading into actually took place three months ago.

Time has been something on my mind a lot lately. I often feel like I don't have enough time. Or if I do have enough time, I spend it doing things other than what I really need to do. 

Case in point: I spend at least two hours of my day driving after usually working for a solid ten or eleven {sometimes 15+} hours. By the time I get home, there is laundry to do, food to make, puppies to play with...the list goes on. But I usually find myself heating up a Lean Cuisine, popping open a bottle of vino, and falling asleep halfway though my glass. I am usually thankful for the much needed sleep {I'm one of those people that needs a solid 8 hours every night}, but the next day I feel so behind and disorganized because my lunch isn't made and I don't have clean socks.

It's a vicious circle. Finding that balance between doing what is necessary versus what makes you happy and relaxed can be, I find, a struggle.

This year, I've been making more time for myself, trying to stay more organized an on top of things so if some parts of my life are going full speed ahead, it's not magnified by the chaos of a piles of laundry, unmade food, and a stack of unread mail. The last few weeks, my life has slowed down quite a bit, though I know it will pick up again in the coming days. So, I've been focusing on the little things that make such a huge difference when added up. Like preparing meals on Sunday night for lunch during the week, stopping for gas at night instead of rushing in the morning, and taking 30 minutes to make sure my work clothes are steamed and ready to go over the weekend.

I get all these things done in a few hours, and that leaves the rest of the weekend for relaxation and fun. It may sound ridiculous, even childish, but balancing the demands of work with the desire to relax, socialize and enjoy time off can be harder than you think. Those little things add up and can bog us down. I've leaned that making the time for the small, necessary things allows me to have more time overall to relax and enjoy life. My "me" time isn't spent worrying about all those things I should be doing. Weekends and nights off are short enough as it is, so I'm learning to make the most of every moment I have. And I, for one, believe those free moments should be spent in laughter, joy and contentment.