This is a question we all have right? And we often have it kicking around in our heads when we are feeling overloaded, and taxed to our limit!
Hello! And welcome to the Lioness at the Door blog. I hope you will find encouragement, strength and know-how every time you visit, so thanks for being here!
In my last post, I invited you to make a written inventory of how you are currently using your time. Were you able to take a few minutes and answer those questions? If so, I hope it was good therapy and brought clearer perspective and accountability for the way you are choosing to spend your precious time!
If you didn’t take that opportunity yet, I would invite you to jump over to that post here, take the inventory, and then come back to this post and continue reading.
Once you know what is tripping you up, then you certainly need to make an informed decision that will require declining some activities you may be used to doing and or some things that others are expecting you to continue to do.
I’d suggest two rules of thumb when making these sometimes tough decisions:
- When you are met with a request, new or old, consider the other side of the stick. In other words, each decision has two ends. One is what we will decide or agree to do, and the other is the things to which we will inevitably say no, since our time and resources are limited. As an example, if I say yes to watching a series of podcasts in the afternoon, when I also need a nap, I am saying yes to the podcasts and no to being rested and fresh when the kids get home from school. Sometimes it is easier to say no when we also gauge what we will be missing if we say yes.
- When you’ve determined that you need to decline some activity, whether this is in a conversation with yourself or someone else, simply decline. Say, “that won’t work,” or “I’m sorry I won’t be able to do x, y or z that day,” or “Self, the cost is too high, I can’t afford to use my time this way when other things are more important to me.” Keep your words to a minimum, and your determination at a maximum! Using more words means giving others (or sometimes yourself) the thrill of creatively overcoming every obstacle you cite as the reason you have chosen not to engage or commit to something. Be brief! Be concise! Be firm!
Because the time and energy we have been given will be accounted for, now or at some future point, it is up to us to decide, like the Lionesses we are, and then let the consequences fall and the blessings flow!
I am sending you my love today, and challenging you to pick up your agency, look honestly at your life and practice making decisions like crazy until you get into a groove that supports you and your family!
God bless you today and always,
