As I have been pondering my goals for the new year, I have been trying to think of a word that would help me to feel more accomplished, more satisfied and happy with each of my days. I have been toying around with a few different words. A few days ago, I had another one of those frustrating days, where I felt like I didn't get anything done. I remembered a funny little description I had read on a favorite blog just a few weeks prior. Here is how the description went:
I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.
As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke I’d been drinking. I’m going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over.
The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye–they need water. I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I’ll be looking for the remote,
but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.
At the end of the day:
the car isn’t washed
the bills aren’t paid
there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter
the flowers don’t have enough water,
there is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can’t find the remote,
I can’t find my glasses,
and I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all stinking day, and I’m really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem,
and I’ll try to get some help for it,
but first I’ll check my e-mail….
As I laughed about this description, knowing that this is how many of my days go, I knew that my word needed to be FOCUS. I remembered a journal entry I had written two years ago and this is what is said:
Distracted. Overwhelmed. Scattered. Mind is moving 1000 miles an hour. Lists of things to be done. Lists of things I want to be done. Inadequate. Trying to juggle too many things. I want everything to be in order. NOW! I want to have the perfect schedule, have the perfect house with everything in its place. I want to be the perfect mom and do units with my kids and really spend time with them. I want to be the perfect example for them and teach them the gospel. I want all this perfection, and then I get tired. I freeze.
So it looks like things haven't changed much:) My goal this year is to focus on the things that are most important, but also have specific focuses each day that I try to accomplish. This is going to be a learning experience, but it will be my FOCUS. Today was my first day at this, and I tried to think of three focuses for my morning, afternoon, and night. Did I accomplish all of my focuses today? No. But I had a good day and will do better tomorrow, hopefully:) Which reminds me I better go finish folding the laundry...one of my afternoon focuses.
