Prioritising our priorities.

Hello, lovelies. If lockdown has given us anything it’s given us time. Time that we could have spent shopping, going out to a restaurant or pub, or just being out in the big wide world. No holidays, no gym, and definitely no socialising with our friends. And all that new time should have been spent finishing off all those projects, remodelling our homes and lives or reading every book that has been sitting on the shelves for ages, all waiting to be read. And for the most part, we did that. Well, some of that, at any rate. But what about the things that we’re still putting off? When are they going to be at the top of the to do list? Why are some of our priorities still not a priority to us? Can we keep putting them off forever? Or should we all start prioritising our priorities? We all have a bucket list, and as the years have marched on, my list became less to do with sky diving and skinny dipping, to more realistic things like learning another language and learning how to play the piano. And as a grown up, these things should be so much easier to achieve, because being an adult means that you understand the importance of putting your time and energy into the things that you want to do. Ha! Who am I kidding? Being an adult means that you must do the most important things first, like going to work, paying bills and trying to find the partner to every odd sock in your house. Being an adult is all about doing things for other people. For our children. Our employers. Our partners and families. Our homes. And our mortgage company. And with the tiny bit of the 24 hours that are left after we’ve managed to get all that done, there might just be a slim thirty minutes to squeeze in that run we’ve been meaning to do. Or to paint that wall that has needed that second coat of paint for the past six months. To read that book. To write that book. To learn an instrument or language. But the sad reality is that we are permanently exhausted by the demands of our lives that we rarely take the time needed to do all the things we want to do. All those things that would improve our lives. But how can we prioritise what is important to us, when we are so much in demanded by others? Why is prioritising so important? And how do we do it? Well, we all prioritise every day. We do it with our families, at work and in our homes. We do it to keep our lives on track, and to keep our eyes open for any problems or issues. It makes us focus on the important tasks, but it also makes us work out what are less important tasks, that will need doing, but just not yet. I have a long list of things that I need to get done, want to get done, and may do one day. And yet, we never get around to doing the things that are on our personal list. And for me it’s playing the piano. Before Covid, I had regular lessons with the most wonderful teacher. She is patient, understanding and could put up with listening to me butcher my way through Mozart for beginners. So, with all this extra lockdown time, it would be a perfect opportunity to sit in front of my piano and practice until my fingers go numb. And yet, because its something only for me, I can’t find the time to do it. There’s always so much housework to get done. I am convinced that there are more people living in my house than I am aware of, because my children swear that the mountain of dirty clothes were not made by them. So how am I going to find that time just for me? And that’s all about making a daily, weekly and monthly to do list. Now, I love lists, but that’s an awful lot of them. But it’s important to know on what and where our time is going. And from that, we can work out what is actually important and what could wait for another time. We also need to work out what our true goals are. We may all want a Pinterest worthy home, but is that more important that taking that time to practice the piano? We can highlight what’s important, urgent and unnecessary effort. And with the lists, we can track what is important and stop any competing priorities. Working out what is the main goal ensures that we allocate sufficient time to complete it, as well as making necessary changes in order to save time and become more productive. All that from a few lists! We also need to prioritise our health, physical, emotional and mental. Always cleaning and running around after others isn’t good for us. The same way that not getting up and doing things is not good for us either. We need to find that balance. We also need to prioritise our finances. It’s so easy to sit at home and spend both time and money on internet shopping. I have caught myself scrolling through online shops, adding to my basket all sorts of nonsense that I neither need nor want in the long run. It’s so easy to justify that spending, as we are all stuck at home with nothing to do. Prioritising our money is so important. I’m going to end my little blog here, as I have an itching to go and play the piano. And after that I am going to find my most suitable notebook and begin working out what is truly important to me and letting go of all the things that can be done later. Our time is short, as, before we know it, life will go back to the way it was before, and if we don’t put into place what’s truly important, we will never get around to doing what truly matters to us.