Time. It’s fleeting, isn’t it? The hours, days, months, and years seem to fly in the blink of an eye. And if we’re not careful, it’ll be long gone without much to show for it. Over the past few months, I’ve been striving to not let that happen. To be intentional with my time, in whatever I’m doing. That doesn’t just mean in maximizing my efficiency and productivity (though those are improving also), but to be intentional and more importantly, present, in whatever I am doing, no matter how big or small. Whether I am writing a blog post, crafting a new recipe, designing a new program, or simply watching TV with my husband, I have been trying to simply just. do. that. To be fully present in whatever I’m doing, as I am doing it.

I’ve learned a lot about myself through this. I’ve learned that multitasking is sometimes counter productive. That I mindlessly tend to drift elsewhere without realizing it, such as checking my email or social media. I’ve also learned that I function best and can be more present when I build tasks into my day. That things like “play with the dog”, “go for a walk”, and “watch tv” sometimes need to be written in my planner so that I make them a priority and don’t push them off for other things. That may sound silly to some, but it’s teaching me the importance of balance. I know how to grind; how to dig deep and get $hit done. What I struggle with is balance. How to balance my time between all the things I want or need to do in a way that doesn’t leave me feeling burned out. I am guilty of setting self-imposed deadlines and urgency that means I sometimes spend all my time and energy on that one project obsessively. And I’ve learned that that doesn’t serve me well. You see, I have big goals, big dreams, big things I want to accomplish. But more than anything else, I want to enjoy. I want to truly enjoy my life, my work, my mission, my family and friends. And in order to do that, I had to find some balance.

I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on this. In fact, I am far from it. But I’m learning. I’m growing as a person, as a wife, as a business owner, and as a friend. And I’ve realized that in order to be the best me in all those categories, I had to set some boundaries. I had to learn to recognize my limits. To honor the fact that if I over commit, to my own agenda or to the requests of others, I am doing myself and those around me a disservice. By knowing my limits, setting some boundaries, and saying “no” as needed, I can be better. This is absolutely a quality over quantity situation. And in order to give my family, my friends, my business, and myself the best quality me, it means that I can’t do all the things all the time. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right?

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Do you struggle with time management or finding balance? How to you overcome such struggles? Have you found a certain aspect of life tends to be more draining or more rejuvenating than another aspect? Share your life lessons or strategies in the comments. I love to learn from one another.