I make lists for everything. EVERYTHING. It is the ONLY way to keep me on top of everything I have going on. I have a "To-Do" list for work, business, school, home- everything...and I LOVE highlighting stuff that has been completed on my list...like today- "Blog Post" has been highlighted and checked off lol. But one too many lists can prove overwhelming at some point. That happened to me about a month ago. I WAS OVERWHELMED. All those lists looked like snakes, snapping at me, trying to eat me alive! (super dramatic, I know). I pushed all my lists to the side, and applied something my husband and I had done a year before. We were writing down our family goals, but in order to prioritize what was most important, we listed the most important things in our lives from most important to least. I took that and did it for me. I listed the most important things in my life to the least. As I wrote this list, I realized that I was being pretty efficient in most areas, but I could stand some improvement in how much time was allocated to everything. For instance, I love God and have a relationship with Him, but He wasn't getting the attention He was supposed to get, if I claimed He was at the top of the list. Yes, I pray daily, and I read devotions, but when was the last time I just sang to Him? Or just talked out loud to Him on my car ride home? That is the relationship we have had, and I was not fully nourishing it.
Never one to sit back and not be proactive, I finished my list and decided to implement another system I read about from (https://www.facebook.com/groups/HEI.iRead/).. For 30 days, many of my friends and I read 10 pages of a book everyday for 30 days. This not only exercised our brain cells, it was a commitment and test that if you do something for 30 days, it becomes a habit. So here's what I did- for 30 days, I was going to dedicate all of my free time to one thing on my "list". I always want to be intentional about living my life to the fullest, and constantly growing and sharing that growth with others. I am in month #2 of this and it feels GREAT! I have found that although I am in month #2 with my #2 "thing", it isn't hard to keep my #1 thing active. It reminds me that HE is the core and movement to everything. Plus things that are in the #5 spot (that I haven't gotten to yet) are improving, because I dedicated time to the #1 "thing".
All in all, especially with this government shutdown, I encourage everyone to take a sheet of paper and write down everything/everyone that is important to them, and rank them in order, which will help you to gain perspective on how to navigate through this crazy thing called life.
Use it as a reference point to keep you on top of what you SAY is important. If your kids are most important, but you're only slightly engaged in activity with them, check yourself. And don't come up with excuses- even if you don't live with your kids, you can do things to be prepared for when you ARE with them...little Timmy is into Airplanes now? #Turndown for a little when it isn't your weekend, and find some documentaries on airplanes. Reach out to a flight school for a tour....DO SOMETHING!
I won't get into what should be #1, #2, etc...on your list, but one hint to my method was God is ALWAYS #1, and I can't be good to ANYONE else if I am not good to me first {Insert plane crash/safety mask theory article here}.Here are some of the things on my list, in no particular order ( I don't want to influence your list, so I purposely mixed it up):
- Education
- Singing
- Husband
- Finances
- Friends
- God (the relationship, not religion)
- Children
- Me
- Constantly learning new things/ reading
- Job
- Songwriting
- Family (beyond my immediate household)
- Physical fitness
- Traveling
- Entrepreneurial Endeavors
- Philanthropy/ non-profit work
When you come up with your list, tag me on Facebook at facebook.com/patricejonesmusic or tag me on Twitter and Instagram at @pjnickols and lemme see! Use #lifelist as a hashtag!
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