Skip to main content

Less is More


And I'm not talking about the new hit show "Tidying up with Marie Kondo," although I DO love to purge items and be minimalist as possible. I'm talking about juggling life. Having a career, being a foster mom, with a chronic illness like cystic fibrosis can make it feel like I'm juggling 10 items at a time. I think I'm finally getting an idea of what I need to do!





I sleep 9:00 pm-6:30 am (yes, full 9.5 hours) and I need them. I do nebulizer treatments, pills, and clean medical equipment for 4 hours a day. Between getting the kiddo(s) off/on bus at 8am and noon, making meals, cleaning, errands. It doesn't leave a lot of time for: career, family, volunteering, and other aspects like appointments (both medical and fostering). I'm not complaining. I'm SUPER lucky to have a family and career. Plus, I'm fairly healthy and stable despite my cystic fibrosis.





I have been doing awesome at managing all my meds. SUPER THANKFUL for that! Especially considering I added 2 weeks of Home IV antibiotics on top of my normal 7-10 nebulizer treatments a day (those IVs ended a couple days ago and follow up is March 3rd- stay tuned...). I know my medications have to be a priority. Not only for me, but for me be the healthiest possible for my family.










I try to plan ahead and work smarter, not harder (I think that's from Dave Ramsey) - I listen to his podcast quite often. I just have to get creative sometimes... like recently I did my treatments during my 30 minutes lunch in a 7 hour long real estate seminar. I try to mulit-task as much as I can. I do puzzles with our kiddo(s) or do online real estate work during my treatment times at home too.










Sometimes I need a personal time-out.





Just time to stop and enjoy a mug of decaf black licorice flavor hot tea (No?? maybe coffee in your case ;-P). I want to enjoy every minute. As a foster parent we never know when our time with the children in our home will come to an end. I want to make the most of every minute and soak it all up <3





I have been using my google calendar in my phone more religiously. And trying to not spend time on "how to plan my time effectively," because next thing I know my planner will look beautiful, but I have no time left to be actually PRODUCTIVE. ( Note: I do use a planner for breaking down big campaigns, projects, deadlines, etc. But I minimize time spent writing in the planner. )M





More doing and less planning.





I think only am I starting to learn what it means to spend my time more wisely and soak up every precious moment. My personal time-outs help. I can see a difference in my days, enjoying more and worrying less. Not surviving, but actually living.





What are some ways you manage time effectively? Do you have a personal time-out or quiet time to refocus? I'd love to hear about them? How do you deal with daily life struggles?


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Today's BIG Appointment

 I discussed last week about my recent struggles & goals. I have been dealing with a lot all at once! Family planning (update on that in 2 weeks), my Grandma's funeral, lower lung function. Through it all I have remained very compliant with my meds! My health is VERY important to me. So this last weekend I took my vest machine, wabi sterilizer system , and packs of ensure to my parent's for the weekend. I wanted to make sure I did everything. While it was a sad occasion, it was still pleasant seeing almost all of the family together again. Actually 27 out of 29 of the cousins made it to the funeral. Grandpa is in the middle of the picture (can you find me?) LOL   On top of my medications I have been doing some dancing & walking, but no jogging or anything. I'm still counting calories on my fitbit (hitting over 3000) a day (& 40 grams of protein, 50 grams of fat at least). I knew I was feeling a bit better than before, but wasn't sure what to expec...
18 comments
Read more

Beginning of the Year Troubles

Normal "beginning of the year" troubles for Andrew and I only really consist of one topic: Our Deductible [please no Obama, or government bashing] I've always had high deductibles ALL MY LIFE (no matter who was president). The problem is I hit my deductible within the first week of January. In the past I have always prepared for this and since I was still on my father's insurance (up until last year) he typically paid the bill (at least for medical stuff). And in the future Andrew & I won't have such an issue with this. We will be able to save and plan ahead for the $3,000 (for my deductible, his is another $3,000). However, this year was more difficult. We saved all 2013-2014 for our wedding & honeymoon, plus had our deductible saved too. But Real Estate was a pricey career to start, I've put almost $5,000 into it (classes, dues, licensing, exam, advertising, etc). So needless to say our deductible disappeared, thanks to my new career. Wh...
10 comments
Read more

Sunny Days!

Since my last Cystic Fibrosis clinic, which you may have read about on my Facebook page , I have been working on a couple goals... both medical and personal. And boy do I love this summer weather! Summer weather combines one medical and one personal goal!! EXERCISE + MORE FAMILY TIME! I'm not one to enjoy extreme heat (90+), but have really LOVED the nice days outside with the family this summer! Sun (+sunblock LOL), freezie pops, flip flops, YES PLEASE! We have even spent some time at the lake this summer! Our kiddo(s) LOVE(S) the water and so does Andrew! I don't enjoy being IN the water as much as I like being ON the water. We have spent a dozen days this summer at our two favorite park/splashpads as well! Even days spent at home are usually in the kiddie pool. We are enjoying this weather and getting some exercise too! WALK! I try to talk advantage and do some walking when its nice out and I feel good. My Physical Therapist at clinic said it needs to be 15 mins of full acti...
2 comments
Read more