Harmony in Time, Schedule and Life

I always looked forward to having children AND a career.  Then I had a baby.  I didn’t know how hard this would be.  We came home from the hospital and realized that we were not prepared for this, especially for the first baby.  We can all relate to the shock of having and caring for a baby. Add to that the challenge of special needs and it felt like we were being pushed over the edge.

Time is Not Your Enemy   

How could I be a mother, a wife and a career woman? I always felt like I was racing against the clock: time was my enemy and it was controlling me. There was not enough time in the day and I was always looking for more of it.  Unfortunately, we all only have 24 hours in a day, so I needed to think of how to use those 24 hours the best I could.  I began to look at my daily schedule and how the time was actually being spent.

Can Time Be Your Ally?

No one can control time, but I realized that I could control how I used it.  For example, how could I balance my time equally between all my chores and my son? Thinking in terms of balancing my schedule equally made me feel I was always battling against time. I had to think outside of the box. I began to change my mindset by finding practical ways to make time my ally. I had to create ways to help me find greater harmony and peace within my time and life.

 Keeping Harmony Practical  

My “aha moment” came when I started to include my son in my other tasks and use them as teaching moments.  He liked shopping and cooking. I began to see how I could combine my daily tasks with doing things he also liked. It gave me an opportunity to teach him to be more independent and, we had a lot of fun together! This use of my time was like a gift and I began to realize how time could become my greatest ally.  I began to appreciate how my time was more about creating harmony in my life, not balance. I started thinking of all kinds of fun ways to get tasks done while spending quality time with my son. This mindset has helped to create many positive memories for both us.  

Finding this kind of harmony was not easy and took a lot of planning.  Most of all, I had to accept that I couldn’t be there for everyone all the time. I had to learn how to manage my time more effectively and find harmony, rather than balance, across my schedule and my life. The more I think daily about the practical things I can creatively do, the less guilt I have about needing to be everything to everyone.  

Can you relate to feeling guilty about trying to do everything? Share below what you have done that worked to create greater harmony in your life?