February 24, 2021
Learning how to create balance.
I’ve spent much of my life trying to find balance.
Television news is a constant cycle of deadlines and after more than 25 years in the business, I learned to thrive on them.
Even in the years since I left, I continued to place pressure on myself by creating deadlines for things that didn’t always deserve the intensity.
My children and family time suffered a lot as a result and for too many years I felt I just couldn’t master that balancing act with family and work.
2020 forced me to restructure and reprioritize but the stress of the unknown still lingered.
2021 feels different.
I feel like it’s taken me half my life to figure out how to truly slow down, prioritize, relax and quit relying on cycles of deadlines to make me feel accomplished.
Most days now, I wake up in the morning and spend a good hour with silence, green tea and my thoughts.
I still rely on my to-do list but I tackle the must-do’s first and then I decide how much of the other stuff I’ll get to.
If I don’t get to it, I just move it to the next day. It’s not the end of the world anymore.
I multi-task. If I’m scrapbooking, I listen to a podcast, an audible book or I watch an episodes of The West Wing (how has it taken me 20 years to discover this brilliant show?!)
I stopped spending time on my computer or returning emails after dinner.
I start projects days, sometimes weeks ahead of time so I don’t create the unnecessary anxiety of a forced deadline.
I spend at least one hour a day working out.
Fitness is my daily practice of physical and mental self-love and something I consider a gift, not a chore.
I spend evenings with my hubby just relaxing on the couch and I truly enjoy cooking for my son dinner at 9 or 10pm when he gets home from lacrosse practice.
Last night he had a game and I sat in the stands thinking to myself, how much of this I missed through the years or didn’t appreciate the way I do now.
It’s taken half my life to finally figure out that balance isn’t something you find.
It’s something you create.
#balance #reprioritize #family
